My Heart Belongs To You!
by CutieTea
Summary: Ichigo x Rukia! They realize they have feelings for each other, ready to start something new. Involves romance, action, friendship, and humor. Takes place after Bleach Fade to Black: I Call Your Name and the Fake Karakura Town Arc!
1. I Remember

Hi, this is my first fan fiction! I really love Bleach, especially Ichigo and Rukia—in my eyes, they're perfect for each other! This is mainly an Ichiruki fic, so I suggest any Ichihime or Renruki fans to go find another fic to read! x)

This fic takes place after Ichigo and the others save Karakura Town from Aizen, and Fade to Black: I Call Your Name! (I really loved that movie, bwahaha.)

_Italics with quotes means thoughts, italics without quotes means a flashback_,**bold means emphasis on something**, nothing means normal!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything! Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo! =)

Enjoy!

It was 6 PM, and everyone attending Karakura High School was getting ready to leave, off to start their summer.

"Ready to go, Rukia?" Ichigo looked back at the petite shinigami in her school uniform.

"Hold on, I need to get my notebook in this stupid bag!" Rukia struggled to fit the bigger-than-average notebook in her book bag. Sighing, Rukia gave up. "You know what? Screw it." Just as she grabbed the notebook, Ichigo took it instead. "Man, you take forever! C'mon, let's go home, Midget." That earned Ichigo a good kick to the face.

With a tissue to his nose, Ichigo walked with Rukia back to the Kurosaki household.

"So, what convinced Byakuya let you stay in the World of the Living?" It was something Ichigo thought ever since they came back from Hueco Mundo.

"Since you defeated Aizen, the Soul Society has been very peaceful. Nii-sama allowed me to come to the World of the Living whenever I pleased, as long as I eliminated every hollow nearby. Since there aren't really any shinigami on duty around Karakura Town, I decided to come for a visit—maybe even stay for a while." Rukia looked on at the road ahead of her. They were almost at the Kurosaki Clinic; she remembered the day she met Ichigo—how she thrusted her zanpaktou through his heart. If that hadn't happened, she wouldn't be walking side-by-side with the man she was thankful for having.

"I see. Well, glad to have you back, Rukia." Ichigo smiled; he, too, remembered the day they met.

He turned his key through the keyhole of the front door—"Yuzu! Karin! Rukia and I are home!"

"Welcome home, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu looked over to Rukia. "Hello, Rukia! Welcome back into our home!"

Karin sat at the table reading a comic book, not interested in what was going on. Yuzu was excited to see her older brother with a woman; that rarely happened. Rukia smiled back at Yuzu as she latched onto her brother. After the hug, she went back to preparing dinner as Ichigo and Rukia made their way up to his room.

"**AH, HAH!**" Kon jumped across the room, landing on Rukia's chest. Through his sobs, Kon managed to say, "NEE-SAN! HOW COULD YOU HOOK UP WITH THIS BASTARD? I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON BETWEEN YOU TWO! I KNEW IT! YET YOU CONTINUE TO DENY IT!" Kon turned to Ichigo. "AND YOU! YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU STEAL RUKIA NEE-SAN AWAY FROM ME! YOU WERE JEALOUS OF OUR SPECIAL BOND, HUH? YOU-" Kon's face was stepped on in no more than half a second—by Rukia's foot.

Rukia was madly blushing, Kon's words causing her to recall the changes in her feelings towards Ichigo.

_Ichigo glanced at Rukia, her dark-self bound by Byakuya's spell. 6 rods of light prevented her from moving, causing much struggle to get out. Looking back to the day Rukia saved his life, Ichigo gripped on Zangetsu tighter. _

_Rukia crawled to the pole, shoulder bleeding, turning to sit down. "Do you.. want to.. save your family?" _

"_Of course I do! If there's a way, then tell me how!" Ichigo was anxious to know. _

_Raising her zakpaktou, Rukia looked up at Ichigo. "Just one.. You must become.. A soul reaper..." _

"_You must take my zakpaktou and run it through to the center of your being, so that I may pour my powers into you! I can't guarantee you that you will live, but if it doesn't work then it won't matter. You and I will die together." _

_With a more determined look upon his face, Ichigo walked towards Dark Rukia, who had broken free from Byakuya's spell._

"_Let's kill him! Let's kill that shinigami!"_

"_Here I come, Rukia! This time I'll be the one lending you my power!" _

_Both of their reiatsus strengthened as they charged at each other._

"_Open your eyes, Rukia!" Ichigo yelled._

"_I am.. Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo remembered, as he thrusted his zanpaktou through Dark Rukia's heart. _

"_Rukia…" _

_The hollow inside Rukia separated from her body, a flashing blue light engulfing them. Her appearance changed back as she fell to her knees. With Ichigo's arm around her, she looked up._

"_Ichigo." She examined his face, noticing from the day they met that his hair had been longer and the look of his eyes softer. He had developed into a well-grown man and shinigami. He looked back at her. "Hey." Rukia blushed and looked away, realizing she had some feelings for Ichigo._

"Shut up, Kon. And quit latching onto Rukia's chest, would ya?" Ichigo dropped his book bag and laid on his bed.

"WHY? ARE YOU JEALOUS, YOU BASTARD? 'CAUSE IF YOU ARE, I'LL JUST KEEP DO-" Ichigo grabbed Kon's face and threw him out the window. "YOU BASTARD!"

"Man! Kon sure is a handful!" Frustrated, Ichigo turned on his side to face the wall. Coincidentally, he remembered the same thing Rukia did as well. His feelings also changed when he looked at her during their hug. "_Do I seriously like her? I mean, like-like her?"_ He looked at her with the corner of his eye, then faced the wall again. "_Shit.. I don't know what to do.. Does she like me too?" _

"Ichigo." The sound of her voice startled Ichigo. He looked up.

"Yeah, Rukia?"

Climbing onto her bed in his closet, Rukia looked back at him. "I'm going to bed.. I have a lot of things on my mind. Tell Yuzu to wrap my dinner and leave it on the table for me to eat tomorrow, and tell her I'm sorry I couldn't make it to dinner tonight." With that, she closed the closet door.

Ichigo sighed, deciding that he wasn't going to eat dinner either.

After informing Yuzu about their decisions, Ichigo headed up back to his room, fell down on his bed, and lost himself to sleep as the sleeping petite shinigami in his closet breathed softly.

Bwahahahaha! I really do love Fade to Black. =)

Ichigo and Rukia are so cute together! It makes me upset that Tite Kubo didn't make them a couple. =(

They're totally perfect for each other! T_T

I have no idea when the next chapter will be up.. Probably soon though, next week maybe!

Thanks for reading!

CutieTea (=


	2. Damn, Kids!

When I read chapter 423 of Bleach, I cried my eyes out. T_T So I'll try to keep this fic going in case Ichigo never sees her again…

You have no idea how sad that chapter made me. =/

Chapter 2 of My Heart Belongs To You!

The characters may be OOC… Sorry if you don't like it!

Again, I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does.

Enjoy =)

Rukia woke up to a headache at around 3:00 PM. Rubbing her beautiful, big violet eyes, she sat up. "_It's 3:00!" _she thought, looking at her cell phone clock, _"I've been sleeping for a longass time!_ _And_ _what's with this headache?" _She brought her right hand to her forehead, "_It'll probably go away after a nice, warm shower." _

Gathering her undergarments, a cute yellow sundress and a towel, she hopped out of Ichigo's closet and made her way to his bathroom.

Opening the unlocked bathroom door while yawning, she set her clothes on the counter and started undressing out of Yuzu's pajamas.

Just as she had finished removing her pajama pants, a loud, alarmed voice startled her—

"**RUKIA, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?**"

Eyes widened, she turned towards the shower, instantly turning red. Ichigo's head peeked at the nearly naked shinigami behind the shower curtain, his face as red as a tomato.

"WHY'RE YOU IN HERE?" Ichigo suddenly remembered that his father was across the hall and immediately slapped his hand on his mouth. A furious Rukia wrapped the towel around her small figure and glared at Ichigo.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU DIDN'T LOCK THE DAMN DOOR! WHAT KIND OF IDIOT USES THE RESTROOM WITHOUT LOCKING THE DOOR?"

"Rukia! Keep your voice dow—" Ichigo tried to get the Kuchiki heiress to shut her mouth, to no avail.

"YOU'RE MAD AT ME FOR COMING IN? HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW YOU WERE SHOWERING? I OUGHTAKICK THE STRAWBERRIES OUTTA YOU!"

"Rukia! SHHH!"

"AND ANOTHER THING! YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE GOING TO SHOWER SO THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS!"

"RUKIA! PLEA—wait… YOU EXPECT ME TO FUCKIN' TELL YOU WHEN I'M GOING TO SHOWER?"

"YEAH, YOU STUPID STRAWBERRY!"

"WELL, EXCUSE ME IF I DIDN'T WANT TO WAKE UP A MIDGET WHO LOOKED PEACEFUL WHEN SHE SLEPT!"

"I'M NOT A MIDGET! AND YOU SHOULD REALLY KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN OR ELSE—"

It was too late. Isshin had already gotten up and made his way towards the bathroom. "What's going on in here?" He stared at the two shinigami in the bathroom, first at Ichigo, then at Rukia… and then at Rukia's stripped clothing on the floor.

"Dad, I can expla—"

"THERE'S NO NEED TO, MY BOY!" Tears formed in Isshin's glistening eyes. "MASAKI, OUR SON IS FINALLY BECOMING A MAN!" Ichigo and Rukia blushed furiously.

"N-no! Kurosaki-san, you have the w-wrong idea.." Rukia tried to get the point across to Isshin, as Ichigo wrapped a towel around his lower half when he was sure both Isshin and Rukia weren't looking.

"You need'nt worry, my dear Rukia! I already consider you my third daughter! I—" Ichigo's foot met Isshin's face, cutting his sentence off.

"OW! MASAKI, OUR SON HAS GROWN INTO A MONSTER! ONLY 15 YEARS OLD AND ALREADY LOST HIS VIRGINITY! THANK GOD IT WAS TO A BEAUTIFUL KUCHIKI HEIRESS! WAIT UNTIL I GET AHOLD OF THE SQUAD 6 CAPTAIN!"

"K-Kurosaki –san! Nii-sama doesn't need to know about this little incident!"

"Dad! We weren't doing anything! She just came in by accident! And will you quit staring at Rukia like some old pervert?"

"OOOOOOH, I see! After we came back from the fake Karakura Town, you and Rukia-san got together! That's why you get so jealous when I stare at my darling third daughter!"

"Dad! Just forget this ever happened! And we're not together! Why would I like **that **midget?"

Rukia deep, deep inside was hurt by Ichigo's choice of words. As the two Kurosaki men bickered, she picked up her things. Halfway out the bathroom door, she turned around. "I'm sorry. I'll make sure this doesn't happen again." She quickly dressed and made her way over to Orihime's.

Ichigo noticed the hurt expression she had on her face. He somewhat knew that it was his fault, but his thoughts were soon interrupted by Isshin's cries.

"ICHIGO, YOU ASS! You've driven away my third daughter! I cannot forgive you until you get her back!"

"Dad, just shut up already!" and with that, Ichigo left to his room and got dressed.

As he dressed, Ichigo spied a note on his table. Upon opening it, he found himself looking at crappily drawn bears. "Hint," Ichigo read aloud, "try to decode this one, Strawberry."

Ichigo looked at the bears, and then at the letter. "BeI'm sorry befor beall thear commotionar beIar becausedar… what? Maybe if I crossed out all of the 'be's and 'ar's… There!"

"_Ichigo_

_I'm sorry for all the commotion I caused today. Next time, I'll knock before opening a door. Tell your father I apologized, too, and your sisters if they heard. I've left to go visit Orihime, and use her shower. I'll be back once I'm done._

_Rukia"_

"ICHIGO! YOU BASTARD! Nee-san left looking all sad! Did you break up with her you asshole? Because if you did, don't think I won't take the chance to go after her!"

Ichigo stared at Kon. "She left looking sad?" His eyes saddened at what Kon had told him.

"Yeah, you moron! Go undo the damage or she'll be mine by tonight! And just because I'm in a stupid stuffed animal doesn't mean I can't kick ass like I did when I was in your body!"

"You're probably right, Kon. Thanks for telling me." Ichigo grabbed his jacket and started walking to Orihime's house.

"_Why do I feel so hurt about what Ichigo said? Am I really that attached to him? Maybe it was a bad idea to come visit… I shouldn't have come back. Shinigami shouldn't feel this way, should they? Well, like he said, why would he like anyone like me..?" _Rukia knocked on Orihime's door.

"Kuchiki-san! What brings you here?" Orihime had on her bright, welcoming smile, as always.

Rukia tried her best to smile back. "Hey! I just came by for a visit. Do you think I could use your shower? There was… a plumbing problem at Ichigo's.."

Orihime gestured her to come in. As she shut the door, she turned to face Rukia.

"Kuchiki-san, I've known you for quite a while now, and I think you should know by now that I know when you have on a fake smile! Now tell me what happened."

Orihime wasn't affected by how Ichigo acted towards Rukia. She knew they had a special bond in the first place, and after they came back from Hueco Mundo, Ishida admitted his feelings for her. They were, since then, the newest couple of Karakura Town. And she apologized to Ichigo for sneaking into his room, trying to plant one on him while he was unconscious.

Rukia looked up at Orihime, her fake smile soon forming into a frown. Eyes saddened, Rukia explained what had happened.

Orihime comforted Rukia as she hugged her. "Don't worry, Kuchiki-san. I'm sure Kurosaki-kun didn't mean it like that. Everyone knows that you two have some kind of special chemistry that nothing could get in the way of. I'd even say that you and Kurosaki-kun are… in love with each other. You both just don't realize it yet." She assured Rukia with a soft smile, and Rukia's frown disappeared.

"Thank you, Inoue."

Rukia made her way to Orihime's bathroom and started her shower.

After her shower, she dressed into her yellow sundress and put on some sweet-pea body spray Orihime kept on the bathroom counter. She walked out into the living room.

"Rukia."

Looking up, she saw a soft look on a usually serious face.

"Ichigo, what're you doing here? I told you I'd be back after—"

Her sentence was interrupted as a pair of hands grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up over his shoulder. "What're you doing? Let me down!"

"Orihime, thanks for letting me in, but I needa talk to Rukia somewhere else."

"Oh, that's no problem, Kurosaki-kun! I'll see you around."

Ichigo carried Rukia to the park, despite her kicking and yelling in his ear. He set her down on the short wall and looked into her eyes.

"Did I hurt you earlier?"

Looking back into his chocolate brown eyes, Rukia's heart skipped a beat. "_He looks so cute right now!" _

"Me? Hurt? ..No! What makes you think that?" she put on another fake smile.

"Honestly, Rukia. I saw your face when you walked out of the bathroom. It wasn't like any other expression you had on. The letter you left me didn't sound like you at all. If you were okay, that apology wouldn't have been so sincere."

Looking away from him with her right hand holding the opposite elbow, Rukia sighed.

"I suppose I was a bit upset.."

"Why?"

Surprised, Rukia looked at Ichigo again. "Why? I thought you knew why.."

"Well, I sort of know why. It'd be a lot easier if you explained to me, though."

"…I was hurt by what you had said to your father." Faint tears started to form in Rukia's eyes.

"Honestly, Ichigo, I didn't expect to be—nevermind, actually. Forget it."

"Didn't expect to be what?" Ichigo asked, without taking his eyes off of the raven-haired beauty in front of him.

"I.. I d-didn't expect to be.. " Rukia remembered what Orihime had said.

"_I'd even say that you and Kurosaki-kun are… in love with each other. You both just don't realize it yet."_

"..so in love with you…" she prepared herself for rejection by keeping her eyes shut tight.

"Damn Midget! You know anyone could fall for you. Renji fuckin' likes you! You may be short and evil, but you're also pretty damn cute and anyone could feel comfortable around you. And I only said that to get my dad off my back…" He turned her head with his hand to gaze into her eyes. Holding her hands in his, he gave her a warm smile.

"And I think you know how I feel about you now." He leaned in towards her. "_Here goes nothing…" _

Their lips were an inch away when a child tugged on Ichigo's jacket sleeve.

"Mister.." a boy with black, spiky hair looked up at Ichigo, "what're you dooooing? Are you about to kiss her? YUUUUUUCKY!" The laughter of many children followed shortly afterward.

Ichigo and Rukia looked around to see them surrounded by a bunch of 6-year olds. Blushing, Rukia looked away and Ichigo looked down at the boy tugging on his sleeve. They were so into their conversation that they hadn't noticed the crowd of children forming around them.

"No, I wasn't about to kiss her… Take your friends and go swing on the swings, would ya?"

"But I don't wanna!"

"C'mon! Please?"

"Make me!" The boy ran around Ichigo chanting, "Na na na na na! You can't make me! Hahaha!"

Beginning to get a little pissed, Ichigo decided to make a deal with this boy. "How about I buy you some ice cream? Will that make you leave us alone?"

A bunch of "yeah!"s were heard. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I meant only for his little guy!" He pointed at the boy with black spiky hair.

The other kids started cry, gradually crying louder and louder.

"FINE! How many of you are there?" Ichigo began counting the kids. "4… 5… 8… 11? Great, I'm spending 11 dollars on ice cream for children I don't even know… Boy, does that make me sound like a pedophile or what?"

Rukia laughed as the children dragged Ichigo to the ice cream truck. "I'll be waiting here, Strawberry!" she called.

Ichigo made his way back to Rukia after buying the kids ice cream, remembering how he tried to kiss her earlier. "_I'll try again when the time's right—and I'll make sure there aren't any kids around!" _

In each of his hands he held a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar—one for him and the other for Rukia. "Here, Midget."

"How did you know I liked strawberry shortcake?" she asked, taking the strawberry shortcake ice cream bar out of his hand.

"Well, I figured since I resemble a strawberry to you, and you seem to love me, then maybe you'd like strawberry shortcake."

Smiling, Rukia began eating the ice cream. Ichigo sat down next to her, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder.

"How was buying the kids ice cream?" she looked at him.

"Those devils bought the 2 dollar ice creams! They threatened to keep bothering us if I didn't buy it for them… Took 22 dollars right out of my wallet!"

She giggled cutely. "Aw, Berry-kun! You're so sweet!"

"Ha-ha, very funny Midget." He rested his head against hers as they finished up their ice cream. The sky gradually turned from blue to sunset-orange, both shinigami realizing it was 6:00. Standing up, they threw away their popsicle sticks and walked to the park's entrance. Nearby the entrance, Ichigo stopped Rukia.

"Wait!" he stretched his arm, pulling her closer to him, as if he were protecting her from something.

Blushing, Rukia wrapped her arms around his waist.

The two started walking again on the path to his home.

"So.." he looked down at the petite woman beside him, "I heard there's a carnival tomorrow down town. You wanna go?"

"A carnival?" Rukia looked puzzled, so she looked up at Ichigo for an answer.

"A carnival is when people from around town gather to have fun. They have games, roller coasters, an arcade, food stands… a bunch of stuff!"

Her eyes lit up. "Can we go, Ichigo? That sounds real fun!"

He smiled at her childlike personality. "Yeah. We can spend the whole day there, if you'd like."

"_I don't even like going to carnivals. But it's worth it if it's with her.._"

"Yay! Thank you, Ichigo!" Ichigo's smile grew bigger.

"What's so funny, Strawberry?" She poked his cheek.

"Nothing, Midget." He kissed her forehead.

The two continued to walk home again, just like yesterday.

Only this time, they were coming home a couple.

Hahaha, this chapter seemed cheesy to me… I'm not a very good writer! But I really do love this pairing, so I'm going to try to make this work =)

I wanted to pair up Orihime and Ulquiorra, but he turned to dust.. =( They were cute together, too!

So I chose the next best guy for Orihime—Ishida! ^_^ I dunno about you guys, but it seems to me that he has a crush on her in Bleach.. =)

I'll work on the next chapter as soon as I can! High school is such a pain in the ass… I'm getting boatloads of homework every night.

Until next time!

~Cutietea (=


	3. Tornadoes?

I've been really tired lately. Blah. x_x Haven't been getting enough sleep!

But I'm still doing pretty good, despite having a C in 2 classes…

Plus, I'm supposed to be working on an essay right now…..

lol, I put the 'pro' in procrastinate! ^_^

Anyway, here's chapter 3 of My Heart Belongs To You!

Btw, Bleach: Memories of Nobody (the 1st movie) **DOESN'T EXIST IN THIS FIC.**

I still don't own Bleach, although I wish I did so that I could bring back Ulquiorra and make Ichigo and Rukia a couple! D=

Enjoy!

Darkness in the sky faded away as the sun made its way above Karakura Town.

The summer carnival was only hours away.

Ichigo slept on his bed, his arms and legs going in different directions under his sheets as the ice-princess brought her knees to her chest while lying on her side, unable to get the man she loved out of her mind—and the carnival.

"_Ichigo described this 'carnival' to me, but I still wonder what it'll be like… Now that Ichigo and I are, er, 'dating', does that make him my 'boy-friend'? No, he's always been my friend, and he's always been a boy… How will Nii-sama take this? And Renji; I don't know how to break it to the both of them.. Nii-sama will surely kill Ichigo and Renji'll be devastated! Ooh, I'm so excited for the carnival! Maybe I should invite Nii-sama and Renji and tell them there! No… that would kill my alone time with Ichigo. I know! I'll invite them to go camping here in this world! Yeah! It'll be fun. We can hike up Mt. Yari! And—" _

There were 3 soft knocks on the closet door, followed by a hushed whisper: "Rukia, are you up? It's 7 AM. Get up and get ready, 'cause I'm taking you out to breakfast."

She sat up and slid open the closet door. "Good morning, Strawberry."

He looked at her, giving her a drowsy half-smile, for he was still a bit tired. "Hey, Midget. Get dressed. We're heading out to Denny's for breakfast today."

"Yuzu isn't cooking for us?"

"I'm taking you to the carnival, so I might as well take you out to eat, too. Besides, it'll save Yuzu 2 plates to wash."

"Hey, Ichigo… What exactly do people wear to 'carnivals'?"

"What? Well… Since it's a summer carnival, we wear summer clothes. It's not really casual kind of attire, because some people want to look nice, but it's also not very formal."

Rukia looked down at her clothes. She had on Yuzu's plaid yellow pajamas, and the only other things she had to wear were the 2 dresses she 'borrowed' from Yuzu and the dress Ishida made her while they were in the Soul Society. She'd been wandering around Karakura Town for the past couple months now and was sure that people from town would notice that she only owned 3 dresses and a high school uniform.

"Maybe we shouldn't go, Ichigo…" A sting of disappointment shot through her chest; she **really** wanted to go.

"Why not? There something wrong? Just yesterday you were all excited to go."

"Well," she looked over at the yellow dress that hung on the closet wall. "I.. don't have a lot of nice clothes to wear. I've only got 3 dresses and this pair of pajamas—and most of them are Yuzu's."

Ichigo let out a small chuckle, "Don't worry, Midget. Just put on one of Yuzu's dresses, and we can go shopping after breakfast."

His words dispelled her disappointment and brought a small, thanking smile on her face, "I'll ask Nii-sama to send some converted Soul Society money and pay you back."

A scowl crept onto the 15-year old's face. "No, don't ask Byakuya for anything. I don't want him to get the impression that I can't afford anything for his little sister—and I'm not ready to die yet. Plus, when you tell him you're my girlfriend, he'll already hate me even more than he does now!"

She let out a small laugh, "Alright then. Thank you, Ichigo. And does this make you my 'boy-friend'?"

Ichigo smiled and grabbed her by the waist and lifted her out of the closet. "Yeah, I'm your boyfriend. Now go get ready. I've got to do some chores before we leave." He kissed her forehead, and with that he was gone and out the door.

She gathered her things and went to go use his shower. She undressed, made her way over to the bath tub and turned both hot and cold knobs to balance out the temperature. She stuck her toe under the faucet until the water was warm, stepped in while pulling the shower curtain across the tub and pulled the shower handle. Water sprayed through the shower head onto her small body as she reached for the bottle of shampoo, squirting the clear-pink substance on her hand, running it through her raven hair.

She sighed. "Where would I be without him…" she murmured to herself.

"_What would make today even more special?" _the orange-haired teen thought to himself as he did the laundry, "_We've only been an item for a day, but I know love her.. Does she like gift baskets? I'm already getting her clothes… How about a necklace?"_

He closed the washing machine lid and made his way to the kitchen. Grabbing a mop, he mopped the floors until he could see his reflection in the tiles. "_How're we supposed to tell Renji about us? And her brother.. Oh boy. And Keigo… Actually, I think it's best to keep it from him—he'll just keep bothering us about it." _

Rukia reached the last step of the staircase. She saw Ichigo putting away the mop. "Strawberry! I'm ready. It's your turn to use the shower." She walked over to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thanks, again. For deciding to take me to the carnival this afternoon. I know it's not what you're into."

Ichigo gave her a half-smile, "Don't worry about it, Midget. Anything for you." He wrapped his arms around her, then she motioned with her finger for him to come down to her level. He cupped his ear to hear what she had to say, but instead she kissed him on the cheek and flopped onto the couch. Turning her head, she smiled and called, "I'll be waiting."

He made his way up the stairs and into his room, grabbing his towel, a pair of black jeans, a purple v-neck, and went to the bathroom.

Rukia sat in the living room examining fashion magazines that Yuzu left lying on the coffee table. She flipped through the pages, stopping every time she saw a hairstyle or outfit she thought was appealing.

A light voice called her from the stairs. "Ruki-nee?"

Startled, she dropped the magazine and turned around.

She had her hand over her chest, "Oh, Yuzu! You scared me!"

The young Kurosaki smiled. "I'm sorry, Ruki-nee!" Ever since last night, when Ichigo and Rukia came home as a couple, Isshin kept referring to Rukia as his third daughter, so Yuzu began calling her 'Ruki-nee' while Karin was shocked that Ichigo could get a girlfriend. "What're you doing on the couch alone this morning?"

Rukia smiled back at her. "Well, your brother is taking me out to breakfast, then we're going to go shopping.. and then he's going to take me to the summer carnival. I'm just waiting for him to get ready."

"Ichi-nii is going to a carnival…? Are you sure we're talking about the same guy? Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Both girls laughed. "Yes, he's taking me to the carnival, and I'm sure it's him. I'm sorry we're not eating your breakfast today—he says it's because today's a special day, or something like that."

Yuzu's eyes glistened, "It's okay, really! He must really love you then! He wouldn't even look at a girl before you came along. Thank you, Ruki-nee. You've finally brought out the real Ichi-nii."

Right when Yuzu had finished her sentence, Ichigo made it to the living room. "Let's go, Midget."

Yuzu grabbed her spatula and swung it towards his face, sending him backwards onto the ground.

Ichigo scowled as he held his cheek, "HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!"

"YOU CAN'T CALL YOUR GIRLFRIEND A MIDGET, KUROSAKI ICHIGO! IF I HEAR THAT WORD COMING OUT OF YOU, YOU'LL BE EATING OUT OF THE TRASH CAN FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK!"

He got up from the floor and apologized immediately to Yuzu, his stomach already turning just thinking about eating from the trashcan for a week.

Rukia got up from the couch and walked towards Ichigo. He opened and held the front door for her, holding her (Yuzu's) jacket while zipping up his own. "We'll be back later, kiddo." He messed up Yuzu's hair before walking out the door. "Have fun, Ichi-nii! Ruki-nee!" She went back inside and shut the door.

The tall shinigami put his arm around his girlfriend and she wrapped her arms around his waist as they walked to Denny's together.

"Rukia, I don't know what I'd do without you."

The small woman looked up at her boyfriend. "Same to you, Berry-kun." Ichigo opened his mouth to argue, but the heiress ran ahead of him. "I bet you can't catch me, Strawberry!" She laughed as she ran.

"Challenge accepted!" Ichigo ran towards her, but she was still ahead of him. Still laughing, Rukia ran on the path to Denny's. She felt an unusual breeze in the air and stopped. Turning around, she saw Ichigo also coming to a stop. "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what, Midget?" A look of confusion appeared on his face.

"That cold breeze… It was like a mini-tornado.."

"A cold, breezy mini-tornado in the summer? Quite trying to act stupid, Rukia!"

"I'm not acting! I could've sworn there was a cyclone of cold wind in the air just now… and I almost got caught in it." Her eyes widened as she felt a small amount of spiritual pressure nearby. She looked around. Nothing was there, except Ichigo and the trees and houses surrounding them.

"Let's not worry about that until we have more clues. C'mon, we're walking together to Denny's."

Despite what Ichigo advised her to do, Rukia still worried. "Alright.." They walked hand-in-hand the rest of the way to Denny's.

"Damn! I missed," a pouting purple-haired shinigami with yellow eyes whispered as she sheathed her zanpaktou, "but I'll get you next time, Kuchiki Rukia—and then, Ichigo will be mine." She laughed quietly to herself. "Just you wait and see."

The waitress set Rukia's pancakes on the table in front of her, but she was so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed.

"Hey, Rukia! Anything wrong?" She looked up.

"What? Oh, nothing's wrong. Don't worry about me, Ichigo! Go ahead and enjoy your breakfast."

"Well, okay.. But if you have anything you want to tell me, just tell me, got it?"

She nodded, thinking back to when the miniature tornado almost caught her.

"_That wasn't just any kind of breeze.. I could've sworn I felt some kind of spiritual pressure, no matter how small it was. I'll have to ask Urahara about it, but for now, I'd better be on the lookout." _

Sighing, she started cutting into her pancakes.

After eating the delicious breakfast at Denny's, Ichigo tipped and thanked the waitress.

"We hope to see you here again!" she said, as he put his arm around Rukia, leading her outside heading towards Karakura mall.

"So what do you want to buy today?"

Rukia thought of the magazines she examined earlier. Bringing her left hand to her right elbow and her right index finger and thumb to her chin, she decided on what she wanted. "I want to buy those shoes! I think they're called 'boots' or something like that… I saw it in one of Yuzu's magazines. They're simply adorable!"

Ichigo smiled at her. "_You're adorable, Midget._"

"And that shirt where one sleeve slips off the shoulder! Plus these 'jeans' that tighten near your ankles… and that one jacket with the furry stuff on the hood! Oh-oh! And that cute dress in that one place! And and and those small 'jean' shorts! And something called a 'tank top'!"

He laughed a little and said, "Alright, we're here now. Go pick out your clothes and call me when you're done; I'll be right there. I just need to get something real quick." He pecked her on the cheek and left towards the jewelry department.

Rukia was eyeing the stores around the mall when one finally caught her eye—'Forever 21'. Her eyes sparkled as she entered the open doors, looking at the cute clothes the mannequins were wearing. It was like nothing she had ever seen before! She gathered everything she wanted and recognized from the magazines in her size; from boots and sandals to skinny jeans, shirts, jackets and dresses. Tired from walking around every corner of the store, Rukia decided to sit down and rest before calling Ichigo.

Ichigo wandered around the jewelry stores, eyeing the necklaces in each case until he found the right one. "Excuse me, Miss," he called the sales woman over to the counter. "Can I see this one?"

The woman's eyes followed to where Ichigo's finger pointed. His finger was on a heart-shaped necklace—diamonds bordered the heart as it dangled from a beautiful, thin silver chain. She opened the glass case and held it for him to see.

"These kind of necklaces are one of my favorites. May I ask who it's for?"

Ichigo slightly smiled at the thought of Rukia. "Yeah, it's for my girlfriend. How much for it?"

"Well, the normal price would be $600… but for a young man like you who loves his girlfriend enough to buy her one of these necklaces, I'll give you a secret discount. For you, only $450."

Ichigo took out his wallet and paid the woman. "Thanks so much. It means a lot," he said, just as his cell phone rang. He jammed the small box containing the necklace into his jeans pocket and with the other hand he reached into his jacket pocket while walking the opposite direction of the jewelry department.

"Hey, beautiful."

"_Hey! I'm ready with my stuff, Berry-kun! Come to 'Forever 21'!"_

"Alright, I'll be right there. Wait for me." With that, he flipped his cell phone shut, and made his way to Forever 21.

When he got there, he saw Rukia sitting near a mountain of clothes she'd picked out.

"_That's a lot of clothes!"_ Ichigo started to sweat. "_Good thing I've been saving up my allowances, Christmas, and birthday money since I was 5_.."

He helped her carry her clothes to the register. "Today we have a discount—any purchase after you have spent $100 is 75% off!" Ichigo let out a sigh of relief.

They stood there waiting as the cashier folded Rukia's new clothes and put them into multiple bags. "So what'd you have to go get, Ichigo?" She looked up at him as a blush crept across his cheeks.

"You'll find out later."

"Sir, your total comes up to $367.89." He took out his wallet again and handed the cashier the money. She handed him and Rukia the bags, told them to come back again and have a good day.

"Thank you, Ichigo!" Rukia tiptoed and pecked him on the cheek.

"Like I said—Anything for you." He tangled his fingers with hers as they walked back to his house.

"Man, I'm tired from walking around all morning!" The teen flopped exhaustedly onto his bed.

Rukia walked to his bedside, "Well then next time I'll ask Yuzu to take me." She turned to go to the closet but stopped when Ichigo grabbed her hand. "No, I like going with you." He smirked and pulled her into bed with him. With his stomach against her back, Ichigo wrapped his arms around her.

"So what were you so worried about back at Denny's?"

"Nothing, Strawberry."

"No, Midget. I know when something's bothering you. Spit it out."

"Well, remember that strange gust of wind I felt back when I ran ahead of you?"

"Mm."

"I felt spiritual pressure.. I swear I did. It was faint, but I could still feel it… And it felt like a shinigami's spiritual pressure, too. And why would that miniature tornado only come by me?.."

"How weird. I didn't sense any spiritual pressure when I ran towards you.. We should go see Urahara about this, now, and then afterwards we can go to the carnival."

Rukia nodded and went to go find what she thought was the perfect outfit to go to the carnival in: ripped denim-blue skinny jeans, black 1-inch high heeled faux leather ankle boots with a bow on the side, a loose white tank top with a floral design, and a black long sleeved cardigan. She dressed quickly in Ichigo's closet and when she finished and got out, she found her handsome strawberry blushing.

"Do you like it..?"

"_Of course I like it, Midget… You look so damn beautiful right now_." "Y-yeah.. you look great!"

She smiled and held his hand. "Well then, let's head over to Urahara's shop."

It was 5 PM when the two got to Urahara's shop. Jinta and Ururu greeted Ichigo and Rukia as Tessai let them in. Yoruichi was sitting behind the small round table Urahara kept in the shop for tea while Urahara himself was in back checking his inventory.

"My, my, my! I'm afraid that someone has broken into my shop and stolen a gigai!"

Rukia looked up at Urahara, "Someone broke into your shop?"

"It appears so, Kuchiki-san. But I'll get to the bottom of that later. What brings you and Kurosaki-san here?"

"We—well, I encountered another reiatsu earlier this morning. It belonged to a shinigami, I'm sure of it, but I never felt it before. I sensed it after a gust of cold wind blew in my direction, and after that, the wind was steady again.."

"Another weird thing," Ichigo started, "was that I wasn't able to detect any spiritual pressure when I was right behind Rukia."

"How strange. I don't have any information on what you just told me. But I'll do my best to figure out what's going on. Don't you worry, Kuchiki-san. Yoruichi-san and I are on it."

Rukia smiled. "Thanks, Urahara. I'll see you and Yoruichi-san later, then?"

Urahara and Yoruichi nodded, which Ichigo and Rukia took as a signal allowing them to leave.

Ichigo held Rukia's hand as they walked downtown to the carnival.

"Are you excited, Midget? You're going to your very first carnival with me."

Rukia nearly squealed. "Yes! You have no idea how excited I am! Thank you-thank you-thank you, Ichigo!" She had already nearly forgotten about the incident earlier that morning after the mention of the carnival.

Little did they know that they were being watched by a young woman sitting in a tree above them. Her yellow eyes followed them as they walked to the carnival. "_And __**you**__ have no idea how excited __**I **__am to have your head and your boyfriend by tonight, Kuchiki."_

It was 6 when they got to the carnival. Rukia's eyes widened and sparkled as they wandered from the rides and attractions to the arcade and food stands—and landed on a Chappy stuffed animal.

"ICHIGO ICHIGO ICHIGO! LOOK!" She jumped up and down and pointed in the direction of the toy.

He chuckled quietly, "Hold on, Rukia! I've got to buy our wristbands, first."

The worker at the ticket booth stuck the bands around their wrists as they thanked him.

"Where do you want to go first, Midget?"

"CHAPPY CHAPPY CHAPPY!" Rukia ran full speed towards the stand where Chappy was.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Ichigo called as he ran towards the over-excited heiress.

"How much for that bunny, sir?" he asked the man working there as he took out his wallet.

"Not for sale. Sorry boy, but you have to win it to have it."

Rukia looked up at Ichigo, pouted, and gave him her puppy-dog eyes she copied from watching television.

Unable to say no, Ichigo paid the man $5.00. He gave him 3 bean sacks and said, "Knock them all off of their pedestal 3 times to win that stuffed animal."

"_Alright, you stupid bottles… Prepare to get knocked off!"_ Ichigo threw a bean sack as hard as he could at the bottles. All 3 of them fell off, and the man went to set them up again.

He picked up another one of his remaining bean sacks and closed his right eye for better aim. Rukia watched in awe as he brought his right arm back and flung the sack right in between the 3 bottles.

All 3 fell again. "Last shot, son." The man set the bottles up again. "_All right! One more shot, and I'll get the damn bunny for her!_"

Ichigo lifted up the last sack and threw it in between the bottles again, as hard as he could.

3 bottles dropped. "WE HAVE A WINNER RIGHT HERE! KNOCKED DOWN ALL 3 BOTTLES 3 TIMES IN A ROW ON HIS FIRST TIME!" He handed Ichigo the Chappy doll, which he handed to Rukia, who hugged it tight and jumped up and down, much like a little girl.

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Ichigo! I love you so much!" Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him.

"You're welcome, Midget." He put his arm around her and they started walking around. "Where to?"

"Hmm," Rukia thought, "can we—" "Kuchiki-san! Kurosaki-kun!"

Both heads turned to find Orihime with Ishida and Chad. "Hey, Inoue."

"Kurosaki, you and Kuchiki-san are dating?" Ichigo looked at Ishida. "Yeah, we are. Don't tell Keigo, though. I don't think that idiot can take it."

Ishida nodded. "Alright. Where are you guys headed off to?"

"Well, I was about to tell Ichigo to take me to that big wheel over there." 5 pairs of eyes looked up at the direction Rukia was pointing at.

"The ferris wheel?" Chad said.

"Is that what it is? Well, yes, the ferris wheel. Would you like to come with us? It'll be fun!"

Ichigo's lips formed a scowl. "_Damn, I wanted some alone time with her! Please say no, please say no!"_

"Of course we would, Kuchiki-san!"

"_Damn, Inoue! I thought I could count on you to say no!_"

The 5 walked to the ferris wheel together. "Party of how many?" the ride operator asked.

"Five." Ichigo kept his scowl. "Sorry, the maximum number of people per car is 3."

"Oh, that's fine! Ishida-kun, Sado-kun and I can take a car while you and Kuchiki-san can take another! Is that alright with you?"

His scowl disappeared and he nodded. "_Thank God!" _His hand felt the box in his jeans pocket, making sure it was still there. "_Maybe I should give it to her on this ride…_"

Inoue, Ishida, and Chad got into their cars first. Then, Ichigo and Rukia's car came. As they got in and sat down, the operator closed the door and the ferris wheel started to move, which startled Rukia.

"I-Ichigo!" She held onto him.

He lightly chuckled, "Don't worry, we won't fall. This is how the ride works, Rukia. We should be stopping…" the ferris wheel stopped right when their car was the highest. They had full view of the river. "Right about now. Rukia, loosen your grip on me and look out the window."

She did as he told her and gave him a small smile. "The view is so beautiful from up here, Ichigo…" She admired the night sky and river's glistening beauty under the moonlight.

Ichigo looked at her, "_You have no idea_.." "Rukia, close your eyes for a second. Don't open them until I tell you to, okay?"

She closed her eyes, "Okay. What is it?"

He reached into his jeans pocket and took out the small red box. Opening it, he took out the necklace and put it around her neck. Then, he put her hair over it. "You can open them, now."

She opened her eyes, finding a beautiful heart-shaped diamond necklace dangling around her neck. Her heart filled with joy as she looked at her boyfriend. "Oh, Ichigo!" Before he knew it, he was tackled with a hug. "It's gorgeous!"

"Not as gorgeous as you." He looked into her eyes and leaned in towards her. A blush formed along Rukia's cheeks as she found herself leaning in towards him, too. Waves of excitement ran up and down both their spines. Their lips finally met, then broke apart only seconds later.

"That was something…" she said, still blushing. "_Really something._"

"Yeah… it really was…" he found himself blushing, too, as he scratched his head.

Rukia looked down at the necklace he got her. "Is this what you went to—"

Her sentence was cut short as an arm pinned down her arms against her sides and a hand slapped over her mouth. Chappy fell out of her hands and onto the car floor.

"Sorry to ruin your moment," a man with a deep voice said. He wore a black full-bodied suit and a white mask. "But I need to take Miss Kuchiki here from ya. See ya later, Carrot Top." He leaped out the window as Rukia tried to scream.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo tried to grab onto her but the man was already out the window. "_That bastard!"_

"Damn!" he took out his Substitute Soul Reaper badge and pressed it against his leg. His body separated from him as he leaped out the window after them. "_I'll have to go get my body back later_…"

The 3 Karakura High students in the car next to them were admiring the view too, until Inoue's eyes landed on a man holding onto someone—Rukia.

Her eyes widened as she turned to Ishida and Chad. "Ishida-kun!"

"I know," the Quincy said, "Let's go." The 3 leaped out of the window after Ichigo and Rukia. They angled their bodies towards Ichigo.

The man landed swiftly on the ground, Rukia still in his arms as he jumped across the river.

Orihime held out her hands in front of her towards the ground, "Santen Kesshun, I reject!" Hinagiku, Lily, and Baigon brought their petals together and created a glowing, orange shield, breaking their fall.

"Now, Miss Kuchiki… I'd like you to meet someone." He threw her down on the hill with much force as he laughed maniacally. She rolled down the hill, unable to stop due to the speed, the sticks and rocks beneath her scratching her arms, legs and face. She closed her eyes tight, as she expected to roll into the river, but opened them when she felt pressure on her hip.

" Hey, _Kuchiki-san_," a teenage girl mocked as looked down at Rukia. Her purple hair was tied up with a red ribbon, her eyes a golden-yellow color. She wore a brown jacket, skirt, and shoes and had a maroon bow tied around her neck. She stood with her hands on her hips as her foot sat on Rukia's waist, stopping her from rolling any further. She gave Rukia a sinister smile,

"Are you ready to have your face messed up, _bitch_?"

Yes, I finished another chapter :O!#$TY$##$%#RTRGDy^$#

Finally, haha. I'll get started on the next chapter tomorrow! I have a lot of homework.. =(

I hope you liked this chapter! Again, I'm sorry if you didn't like it. =( I'm trying my best to write it, lol.

Bwahaha, I'm gonna try to include a lot of action in the next one. =) Not sure when I'm going to finish it, though…

Until next time!

-Cutietea =)


	4. Ice vs Wind!

Did you guys like my last chapter? Lol =)

I decided to make Senna the antagonist of this fic because in the first movie, it seems like she had a crush on Ichigo. -.- LIKE, BACK OFF RUKIA'S MAN PLZ TY. She doesn't seem like an evil character, but like I said, Bleach: Memories of Nobody **did not happen** in this fic. ^_~ Hehe.

There may be some Hisagi in later chapters! I really love Hisagi. ^o^ And just a warning, Renji may be a minor antagonist later on.

I don't own Bleach!

Hope you enjoy. ^_^ If not, I'm sorry!

"Are you ready to have your face messed up, _bitch_?"

Rukia looked up at the girl. Through her panting, she managed to say, "Who… the hell… are… you?" She struggled to get up, but the girl stepped on Rukia's hand. "Ah..!" she groaned.

"Where do you think you're going, _Kuchiki-san_?" Her brows furrowed as she stepped on Rukia's hand harder.

"What the hell.. do you want with me?" Her groans grew louder as her hand throbbed under the girl's foot. Careful to make sure the girl didn't see, Rukia pointed her middle and index finger up towards the girl with the arm she was lying on.

"You've ruined my life here **and **at the Soul Society—and now I'm going to make you pay!" The girl raised her foot, getting ready for another stomp.

A blue arrow shot past her face.

"I don't think so." Ishida looked at the girl, "It's not polite to hurt someone who doesn't deserve it."

Rukia took this as her chance to attack, "Hado number 4!" The girl looked down at Rukia, "What the hell are you trying to—"

"Byakurai!"

She barely dodged the pale lightning; it burned the side of her jacket. "How rude! I wasn't even ready!" She landed a fair distance from Rukia on one knee.

Rukia was on her hands and knees, then her feet. She brushed off some dirt and grass on her clothes. "_Ichigo just bought me these, too.._"

"Rukia!" Violet and yellow eyes looked in the direction of the orange-haired teen's voice, "are you okay?"

"**Ichigo!**" both girls called, then they looked at each other. Rukia furrowed her brows at the girl. "How do you know our names?"

The purple-haired teen got up on both feet, took something out of her jacket pocket and smiled. "You'll have to fight me for the answer, _Kuchiki_."

"_Is that soul candy?" _Rukia squinted to get a better look at it.

The girl pressed on the duck head of the soul candy dispenser and swallowed the green pill that landed in her palm. She separated from her body and turned back, "Don't do anything stupid to my body, got it?"

"Yes Ma'am." Her body smiled and saluted her, then cart wheeled away to a safe distance.

_"My, my, my! I'm afraid that someone has broken into my shop and stolen a gigai!" _Rukia's eyes widened, "You're the one that broke into Urahara's shop!"

"You're damn right I am. But who the hell cares," she said, "All that matters is that I'm going to kill you."

Violet eyes scanned the girl up and down. She wore a standard unseated shinigami uniform with a red ribbon tied around her waist. "What squad are you with?"

"Formerly the 13th squad." She smirked.

"_The 13__th__ squad? If that's so, how is it that I don't remember her face?_"

"You must be wondering why you've never seen me before." Rukia looked at her.

"I'm Senna. I was on the 13th squad before you came along—Kaien Shiba was like an older brother to me." Rukia's eyes widened, "Kaien Shiba…?"

Senna scowled and nodded. "Everything went fine until you came along; Kaien and I were so close…" She twitched at the memory. "Then, when you came, he forgot all about me and started teaching you how to fight! He spent more and more time with you each day… You can guess that I was fucking pissed—so I went to the World of the Living, seeking a better life, because Kaien was all I ever had back in Seireitei, and you took him away from me!"

Rukia looked surprised. "Kaien never told me about you…"

Senna gave her a cold stare, "Of course he didn't! He forgot about me! And I heard you killed him, you heartless bitch!" Tears rimmed her eyes.

" When I came here," she looked over to Ichigo, who had just caught up with Ishida, Inoue, and Chad, "I came across Ichigo." Her eyes softened at the mention of him, "I watched him help the ghosts that wandered Karakura Town. I watched him nearly every day from a distance, finding myself slowly falling in love with him… And then you had to come and ruin everything again!" At this point, Senna was yelling. "YOU helped him save his family. YOU got taken away by the Soul Society! YOU made him go after you! YOU took him away from me!"

"Those two were never yours in the first place!" Rukia screamed as anger filled her chest.

"I WISH YOU WOULD JUST FUCKING DISAPPEAR!" Senna yelled as she charged at Rukia. She leaped into the air midway and unsheathed her zanpaktou, "Yuyami ni izanae (call forth the twilight)," she completely spun around, "Mirokumaru!" Strong gusts of wind surrounded her as she fell right in front of Rukia. Her raven hair blew back and forth, slapping against her cheeks and neck. She brought her arms in front of her to block the wind.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo called as he ran towards them. He pulled out Zangetsu when he felt the man's spiritual pressure in front of him. The masked man swung at Ichigo with his katana, Zangetsu blocking the attack.

"Get outta my way, bastard!" Ichigo gritted his teeth.

"Not a chance," laughed the masked man.

Senna swung Mirokumaru up in the air, getting ready to strike Rukia.

"Kuchiki-san!" Orihime called as she stretched her hands out in front of her, "Santen Kesshun, I reject!"

The glowing orange shield appeared between Senna and Rukia, blocking Rukia from the attack.

"Stay out of it you stupid human!" Senna yelled over her shoulder, "Masahiro! Keep them busy while I take care of Kuchiki here!"

"With pleasure, Senna-sama!" the masked man called back. He jumped backwards and landed on his knees, his katana falling down beside him. With his spiritual energy concentrated in his fingertips, he pressed his hands on the ground. 3 clones of him were created, each one appearing before Inoue, Ishida, and Chad. He picked his katana up and stood on his feet, "While those 3 are busy, I'll be having some fun cutting your limbs up, Carrot Top."

Ichigo furrowed his brows and scowled, "In your dreams you bastard!"

"Masahiro! Don't cut him up too badly!" Senna called over her shoulder.

"I'm not making any promises, Senna-sama! His hair really pisses me off!"

Hinagiku, Lily, and Baigon retreated back to Orihime's hairpins as she tiptoed, "Kuchiki-san! Are you okay?" she called over one of Masahiro's clones.

"I'm fine, Inoue! Thanks!" Rukia yelled back. Senna glared at her.

Ishida and Chad took their stance. "Looks like we've got to fight too, Uryuu."

"Seems so." Ishida pushed up his glasses.

"Brazo Derecha de Gigante!" Black liquid formed all over Chad's right arm, turning solid as he clenched his fist. The clone just stared at Chad, getting ready to fight.

Ishida got his bow ready, the pentacle-shaped Quincy Cross on his right palm behind the glowing blue bow.

Senna swung once more at Rukia. Rukia dodged it quickly by flipping backwards on her hands, landing on her feet again. She started panting, her cuts and bruises from the hill bled and ached. "What the hell's your problem?"

"What's the matter, Kuchiki? Too scared to go into shinigami form?" She swung towards Rukia swiftly. A strong gust of wind blew her off her feet; she tumbled backwards by the river. She winced as she stood up again.

"_Damn… she's serious_," Rukia thought. "All right," she looked straight into yellow eyes, "you asked for it!" She grabbed her Chappy soul candy dispenser from inside her boot, popped a pill onto her tongue and swallowed the green pill. As she separated from her gigai, she told Chappy to go look for Ichigo's body, make sure the police or ambulance hadn't found it, and erase everyone's memory who witnessed Ichigo's lifeless body in the ferris wheel.

"You got it, Rukia-sama!" Chappy ran back to the carnival.

Rukia took her stance and unsheathed her zanpaktou. "Well? Come and get me, Senna!"

Accepting the challenge, Senna charged at Rukia, "Let's go, Mirokumaru!" She slashed upward at Rukia with Mirokumaru, only to be blocked by her zanpaktou.

Rukia pushed back against Mirokumaru and jumped in the air. Senna jumped up after her, "What're you trying to do? Run away?"

She glared back at Senna, "Are you stupid? Who would run away in the middle of a fight!" She brought up her zanpaktou right under her cheek, her left hand hovering over the hilt.

"Mae," she started, "Sode no Shirayuki!" Her left hand was now gliding down to the blade tip, as if it were pushing off snow. Under all that 'snow' revealed a pure white blade. She turned Sode no Shirayuki counter-clockwise as the white ribbon formed a circle in the air, her left hand now holding her right forearm. Cold fog surrounded the two shinigami.

"That's a real pretty sword!" Senna stated, "Too bad I'll have to break it! Let's see what Kaien taught you while he left me behind!" She spun around, Mirokumaru emitting a miniature tornado towards Rukia.

"_Shit! I have no time to use one of Sode no Shirayuki's dances!" _Rukia used shunpo to dodge Senna's attack. She raised her flattened, bruised palm up towards Senna, "Hado number 31; Shakkaho!"

"_That'll give me time to do at least the first dance…"_

A blast of red fire shot up at Senna, who expertly dodged it. She laughed, "Where are you aiming, Kuchiki? Hahaha!"

While Senna laughed, Rukia got ready for her attack. "Some no Mai," she said as she held Sode no Shirayuki upside down. Sode no Shirayuki glowed brightly as Rukia slashed the air, "Tsukishiro!" She leaped out of the circle as light surrounded Senna in the air.

Senna's eyes widened as she looked around her. "What is this!"

The light started to solidify into ice, Senna barely escaping it. "Shit!" Her foot was captured by the ice. The white tower started to crack; alarmed, she swung Mirokumaru at the ice and broke her foot free, using shunpo to avoid the falling chunks of ice.

The clone that faced Orihime took out his small katana from the sheath he had on his lower back. Her brows furrowed as he charged at her. She held onto Shun Shun Rikka with her fingertips, "Santen Kesshun! I reject!" The glowing shield appeared again before Orihime; she jumped a little as Masahiro's clone's katana made contact with the shield. He held his katana up in the air and repeatedly swung at her shield, causing her to back up each time. Beads of sweat rolled down her cheek as a crack began to form in the center of Santen Kesshun.

Chad tightened his fist as the extension on his shoulder opened up 3 separate ways, his spirit energy charging out the opening. He swung his right arm back then forward, "El Directo!" Masahiro's clone positioned his right palm upward, pulling the air up. What seemed like a mountain of rocks grew from the ground, following the clone's hand motions; it blocked Chad's attack, buying the clone some time to get out of the way before the rocky mountain broke. "Shit, he blocked it," Chad started panting.

Ishida pulled back his bow's blue spirit string, letting go to release 1,200 arrows at the clone he was facing. Unable to dodge the arrows, Masahiro's clone took the hit; as the blue arrows made contact with his skin, his body parts broke into dirt clods.

"That was hardly any fight," Ishida murmured. He used hiryenkyaku and moved to where the clone was shot. He picked up a dirt clod and examined it, "So they're made out of dirt.." He turned his head towards Inoue and Chad. "_Looks like those two need my help_."

"Here I come, Carrot Top!" The real Masahiro charged at Ichigo again. Ichigo held Zangetsu straight up into the sky and swung him down towards Masahiro, "Getsuga Tenshou!" A blue slice of spiritual energy cut past him. "That's a pretty good attack you got there, Carrot Top!" He threw 5 small daggers at Ichigo, one leaving a small cut on his cheek while the others just flew past him, "but it's not good enough!" Masahiro grabbed his katana and punctured the ground; a rock tower formed under Ichigo (similar to Tsukishiro), who used shunpo to escape the attack. Ichigo lunged at Masahiro, attempting to swing Zangetsu at his face, but failed as he brought up his katana to block it. Ichigo appeared behind him using shunpo and swung Zangetsu upward at his back.

"..D-damn you!" Masahiro winced as the tip of Ichigo's zanpaktou sliced his back. He turned around to face Ichigo; he held his katana straight up, its tip pointing to the night sky. He quickly slid his finger along the blade of the sword, leaving behind a cut on his finger tip. He drew a snake-shaped line across his right arm using his blood; the blood glowed on his arm as his katana transformed into a black glove, brown metallic straps wrapped around his arm in place of the blood.

"What the hell is that?" Ichigo got ready to strike again.

"I'll let you find out, Carrot Top!" Masahiro clenched his gloved fist and punched the ground, sending Ichigo off balance. "What the hell?"

Using shunpo, he appeared before Ichigo and socked his chin upward, sending him high up into the air. Using shunpo again, he was behind Ichigo, grabbed his shoulder, spun him, and pushed him back to the ground, using as much force as he could. "How do you like that?"

Ichigo lied on the cracked earth beneath him; the contact his body made with the ground made it hard for him to stand up. "A-alright," he breathed out, "Let's see if you can handle this…"

Ichigo stood up on both feet with Zangetsu held out in front of him, "Bankai!"

Rukia hid in the fog as Senna landed on the ground.

"So your zanpaktou wields ice…" The yellow eyes searched around, "Where are you? You can't hide forever!" Senna continued looking around for Rukia through the icy fog.

Rukia hid behind a huge chunk of ice that had been shattered from Tsukishiro. She peered out from behind the chunk to see where Senna was—and she was almost near Rukia. "_Sh—" _

"Found you, _Kuchiki_!" Senna thrashed her zanpaktou at the ice, revealing Rukia. Rukia leaped into the air, turned around and concentrated on her kido. Yellow, electric-like ropes circulated her palms and Sode no Shirayuki's hilt as they came together. "Bakudo number 4, Hainawa!"

The yellow ropes went from Rukia's palms around Senna's body, completely pinning her arms down to her sides. "Y-you b-bitch! Get me outta h-here!" She struggled to break free, but it was no use.

Rukia punctured the ground 4 times before taking her stance: "Tsugi no Mai," she started.

Senna widened her eyes, "W-what're you doing?"

"Hakuren."

A wave of pure white snow rushed at Senna. "_Shit! I can't dodge it!"_

"Senna-sama!" Masahiro left his battle with Ichigo to assist Senna in hers. He held up his gloved fist and punched the air in the opposite direction of Hakuren. A wave of dirt and mud collided with the white snow, mixing together, forming a huge, solid rock separating the raven and purple haired shinigami. Then, he punched the ground as hard as he could; a rock tower shot up right beneath Rukia, which launched her up high into the air.

Rukia was launched fast into the air, "_Damn! Who the hell is that? I can't see where I'm going!" _She squinted and tried to look around, but it was no use.

"Rukia!" Ichigo rushed to Rukia using shunpo and caught her in the air. He had her in his arms when he landed safely on the ground beneath them.

"You bastard! She's not your opponent!" Ichigo furrowed his brows and scowled at Masahiro.

As he broke the crawling rope around Senna, Masahiro turned to Ichigo and Rukia, "I cannot allow that woman to get in Senna-sama's way." He shot a glare at Rukia, then turned to Senna and nodded.

"Let's go, Senna-sama." Senna gave him a sinister smile and nodded.

"What the hell are you two planning? Answer me, damn it!" Ichigo growled at them.

"Ichigo, they're coming!"

Senna used shunpo to appear behind Rukia, who widened her eyes. "Kuchiki, you can't beat us!" she laughed. The raven-haired shinigami turned around to look at Senna, who had swung her zanpaktou at Rukia's leg. Wincing, Rukia fell to her knees as the back of her calf bled.

"Rukia!" Ichigo charged at Senna but was stopped by Masahiro. He raised his katana at Ichigo and took a swing, but Ichigo blocked him with Tensa Zangetsu.

"Bastard!" Ichigo yelled, "Getsuga Tenshou!" a black strip of reiatsu with a red stroke was emitted from Zangetsu's black blade, directly hitting Masahiro—but when the black Getsuga made contact with his skin, he turned into dirt clods which fell to the ground.

"_It was a clone? Then where's the real—"_ Masahiro had dashed past Ichigo towards Rukia.

Ichigo's eyes widened as he turned his head, "Rukia!"

Masahiro raised his fist and punched her directly in the stomach, sending her flying, crashing right through one of Tsukishiro's ice chunks, finally making contact with the hill. Her body's imprint was in the hill—it crumbled beneath her as she coughed out blood.

"K-Kuchiki-san!" Orihime cried as she continued to back up. The clone she was fighting finally broke Santen Kesshun, causing her to fall on the ground. "_Oh no! I can't call Hinagiku, Lily, and Baigon back out!_" She shut her eyes tight and blocked her face with her arms to take the clone's blow; when nothing happened, she opened her eyes to find a half-smiling Ishida. "Are you okay, Inoue-chan?" He offered his hand to her. Ishida had pierced the clone with 10 arrows before it crumbled into dirt clods.

Blushing, she took his hand and he helped her up, "Y-yes. Thank you, Ishida-kun."

Ishida nodded and turned to face Chad's clone, who was only a short distance away.

"_This dumbass probably made these clones to scare us; I'll take care of this now." _He shot 23 arrows at the clone, who had broken into dirt clods just as he was about to pierce Chad's chest with his katana.

Rukia found herself unable to get back up and fell face forward onto the grass; the force of his punch left her eyes lifeless and half open, also causing great difficulty for her to breathe. "_Why am I so weak..?_" was all that ran through Rukia's mind then. Her eyelids closed as she fell unconscious…

_Rukia opened her eyes and found herself in another world. Sitting up, she looked around to try to identify where she was; pillars of ice shot all the way from the ground up into the sky past the clouds. Mountains of snow surrounded her as the icy fog before her separated, clearing the path in front of her. "Where am I?"_

_She looked ahead and in the distance she could see a white palace. Standing up, she started running towards the enormous, beautiful palace. The further she ran, the wider her eyes got; "I remember now…"_

_On the front porch of the palace sat a beautiful yuki-onna, her hair long and pale-blue, clipped to the left side of her face; her skin was snow-white and her beautiful pale-blue eyes were complimented by the long lashes that bordered them. She wore white and blue clothing and sat on a white pillow with her hands folded neatly in her lap, as if she had been expecting Rukia. _

_Rukia slid to a stop right in front of the palace, for the ground was slippery. The beautiful yuki-onna stood up. _

_Her voice was gentle and welcoming. "Rukia-sama, I've been expecting you," icy fog surrounded her feet as she glided down the front steps. _

"_Sode no Shirayuki, why am I here?" A puzzled look etched onto Rukia's face as she looked at her for an answer. _

"_Did I not hear you ask why you were so weak?" Sode no Shirayuki's icy glare pierced Rukia. Giving her no time to answer, Sode no Shirayuki flashed right before Rukia with her palm at her lower lip. She gently blew her off balance with her icy-cold breath, sending her to the floor._

"_W-what?" Rukia stood up again, brushing ice off her shinigami uniform. _

"_You do not have full control of me yet, Rukia-sama," Sode no Shirayuki stared Rukia down. _

_With her brows furrowed, Rukia looked straight into Sode no Shirayuki's eyes. "I don't have full control of you…?" _

"_Tsugi no Mai," Sode no Shirayuki lifted up her pure-white katana as 4 bursts of ice formed before her, "Hakuren."_

_Rukia's eyes widened as the wave of snow rushed at her. Quickly, she leaped into the air. "What's going on, Sode no Shirayuki?" _

"_Fight me, Rukia-sama. Then, you shall unravel the meaning behind all of this."_

To be continued! DUN DUN DUN.

-COUGH- I hope you liked this chapter Dx I really suck at describing scenes!

LMAO sorry my reason for Senna going after Ichigo and fighting Rukia was so lame! I just wanted her to get her ass beat by Rukia :O MUAHAHAHAHA.

And sorry if there are any mistakes! =( Again, I'm not a very good writer! xD

I'll get started on the next chapter as soon as I can!

Until next time,

Cutietea (=


	5. Getsuga Shatters Tsukishiro

The new Bleach opening makes me cry…. /sob =( Honestly, every time I watch it I feel terrible because it all started with Ichigo and Rukia and now it's ending with just Ichigo, going back to being a regular 15-year old. He had a zanpakuto (I spelled it wrong in the previous chapters, sorry..) and a shinigami uniform, and everyone in Seireitei knew him and he achieved Bankai and now he can't fucking see them anymore, especially Rukia. And the opening song has a sad beat to it. I just can't help but cry my eyes out. =( WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, KUBO-SAN? Devastation is filling my heart. The only thing that can cure me is if Ichigo can see Rukia again. I'm cool with them not being together if that's what Kubo decides, I just want them to see each other—AND NO ICHIHIME OR RUKIREN PLZ.

Well… anyway… here's chapter 5 lmao =\

I gave Senna some moves with her zanpakuto. I completely made them up and searched up Japanese words, LOL. Sorry if they make no sense…. Haha.

Sorry if I misspell some things! & sometimes I mix in Japanese words/honorifics with English words. x3

I don't own Bleach.

Ichigo's eyes burned with fury towards Masahiro; "YOU BASTARD, I'LL KILL YOU!" He brought his palm to his face, hovering over the left side. His hollow mask started forming as he rushed at Masahiro—"GETSUGA TENSHO!"

"Kazemamoru (protecting wind), Mirokumaru!" Senna tried to send Getsuga Tensho away from him, but it was too strong. "Masahiro-baka! Get outta there!" she yelled at him.

"Hai, Senna-sama!" Masahiro dodged Ichigo's Getsuga, only to find himself dodging many more afterwards. His shunpo couldn't escape Ichigo's immense speed. "_So this is the power of a Bankai?"_

Senna watched the two fight, pumped her fist into the air and squealed, "Ooooh~! Ichigo-kun got so much more stronger since the last time I saw him! We're going to be the cutest couple ever! I don't even know why he would go for anyone like _Kuchiki_." She scowled at the thought of Rukia, "I'm so glad Masahiro took care of that bitch! That's what she gets for messing around with my Ichi-kun and Kaien-nii!" She ran over to Rukia's lifeless body and scanned it back and forth with her amber eyes.

"Wow! How pathetic and scrawny for a _noble_! I can't believe Kuchiki-taichou adopted _this_ as his younger sister." She turned around and continued to watch Ichigo and Masahiro fight.

Masahiro pulled out his 2nd katana out of its sheath behind his back.

Zangetsu clashed with the katana over and over again, this time in mid air. "Why's that embarrassment-of-a-Kuchiki so important to you, Carrot-top?"

Ichigo's scowl was the deepest it'd ever been. "That's none of your business," he replied through gritted teeth.

"I see. All that's left now is that I gotta beat you to a pulp and Senna-sama can spend the rest of her life with you, or whatever the hell she plans to do with you." He smirked under his mask and pushed Ichigo away.

"You talk so big for someone who's about to get his ass whooped by me!" Ichigo stared Masahiro down.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shouted from the ground. "Oi, Kurosaki!" "Ichigo." Ichigo looked down to find Orihime, Ishida, and Chad.

Ishida pushed his glasses up and fired 1,200 arrows up at the masked assassin. He quickly appeared before Ishida, getting ready to punch him like he'd done to Rukia when an orange shield severed them.

"Oi, Ishida! Stay out of my fight!" a pissed Ichigo yelled back down.

"_Hot!"_ Senna squealed again, watching the angered shinigami yell at his friend.

Ichigo sped towards the assassin and tried to cut him with his zanpakuto, which was only blocked once again by the katana. Cursing, Ichigo noticed something about the sword: _"The blade's cracking…"_

Orihime glanced over to the purple-haired teen. "You!"

Senna stopped her annoying squealing and turned her head to Orihime. "What do you want, you busty-ass Ginger?"

Gasping as her eyes met the lifeless Rukia's body, tears rimmed her eyes. "You and your friend are going to pay for what you did to Kuchiki-san!"

Senna fake-shrieked and shouted, "Oh, I'm so scared! What're you going to do? Fire your stupid little pixies at me? Ha! I'd like to see you try!"

Anger filled Orihime's heart. She stared weakly at the injured Rukia, her bangs covering her face as she looked down.

With her head down, she whispered, "Kuchiki-san is one of my best friends… She went all the way to Hueco Mundo with Kurosaki-kun to save me and cured him after his fight with espada number 0… She nearly died fighting espada number 9, and was possessed by a Bount's doll trying to protect me… I don't understand what she's done to you to make you hate her, but as her friend I will also do anything to protect her!" Her head snapped up as she glared at Senna, the tears still flowing along the waterline of her indigo-grey eyes.

Hesitating a little, she decided on summoning Tsubaki. "K-Koten Zanshun, I reject!" Tsubaki shot as fast as he could towards the former 13th squad member.

Senna didn't move an inch from where she was. Instead, she slashed the air with an upward motion using her zanpakuto. "Akumakaze (demon wind), Mirokumaru."

Demonic wind started to rise, completely knocking Tsubaki out before it even reached him, Orihime already realizing she didn't stand a chance against it.

"Akumakaze can cut anything up once it's in its interior." Senna scoffed, "Your mistake for trying to get me with that extremely weak power of yours."

The dark winds rushed at Orihime, whose eyes widened; immediately, the orange shield once again prevented harm from coming to the busty girl, completely deflecting the winds.

"What the hell? Akumakaze should've cut you up! Quit hiding behind that shield like a coward, bitch!" Senna spat at her.

"H-Hinagiku! Baigon! Lily!" Her eyes were back to normal as she stared at the 3 fairies who had just saved her life again.

"Don't worry, no harm will come to you as long as you have us, Orihime-sama!" The orange-haired girl turned her head to come face to face with Shun'o and Ayame.

"Shun'o-chan, Ayame-chan! Please heal Tsubaki-kun!" she pointed to the fierce male fairy lying in a pool of blood.

"Y-you stupid girl… Don't h-hesitate when a-attacking!.." the fairy fell unconscious as Shun'o and Ayame began to heal him.

Rukia stirred a bit in her unconscious state…

_The short shinigami stared at Sode no Shirayuki as if she were a madwoman. "You want me to…fight you?"_

"_Hai, Rukia-sama. Don't let your guard down. Some no Mai,"_

_Gracefully, the beautiful yuki-onna turned her white blade upside-down,_

"_Tsukishiro." _

_The white, moon-like circle formed beneath Rukia's feet. Rukia jumped again, unsheathing her zanpakuto in mid-air. "Mae, Sode no Shirayuki!" _

_She landed on the icy ground below her as the white tower shattered. Panting, she got up on both feet. Now facing Sode no Shirayuki, she punctured the ground 4 times with the now pure-white blade:_

"_Tsugi no Mai," she focused her blade's sharp tip at the pale-skinned spirit, grasping onto the hilt tight with both hands._

_Sode no Shirayuki analyzed Rukia's stance with her icy glare._

"_Hakuren!" _

_Without hesitation, Sode no Shirayuki swiftly swiped at the wave of snow with her white sword, completely deflecting it._

_The shinigami's eyes grew bigger. "H-how…?"_

"_Your stance, Rukia-sama."_

"_My stance?"_

"_Please, Rukia-sama, observe how I initiate a dance. Tsugi no Mai,"_

_Rukia watched Sode no Shirayuki as she held out her sword in front of her. White spirit energy formed at the tip of the blade while 4 bursts of ice were created at her feet._

"_Hakuren." The wave of ice blasted from the tip of her sword all the way to one of the mountains in the distance. _

"_A-amazing!" Rukia started with awe as the ice wall shattered. "But… I'm only able to fire Hakuren using both my hands… And as for Tsukishiro, the moon-shaped circle forms under me, and not my target."_

"_Very well. I shall force it out of you." In an instant, Sode no Shirayuki appeared before Rukia with her palm under her lower lip again. Although she blew gently into her palm, strong, icy breath escaped her lips, shooting at Rukia. _

_Rukia brought her sleeve to her face, the ice freezing part of it. Unable to withstand the ice's strength, she flew backwards and landed on her back. _

_Sitting up, she found her eyes widening again. Another wave of ice was fired at her from the tip of Sode no Shirayuki's blade. _

_Not knowing what to do, Rukia stabbed her zanpakuto in the icy ground below her. To her surprise, a shield formed from the ground up, protecting the confused shinigami._

"_What is that?" _

"_I see you have learned Aisushirudo (ice shield)."_

"_Aisushirudo?" Rukia turned to the graceful yuki-onna._

"_Hai, Rukia-sama. It shields you from attacks that aren't strong enough to crack it. It can shield you from attacks as strong as Uryu Ishida's, but may be cracked by attacks like Kurosaki Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho."_

_Rukia pulled her zanpakuto out, thrusting it once again into the icy layer of the inner-world. _

"_Juhaku." _

_Sode no Shirayuki averted her gaze from Rukia, focusing on the ice freezing the bottom of her white kimono. She immediately broke free using her sword, stunned that her wielder attacked her without warning. _

"_I don't remember saying it was okay to let your guard down, Sode no Shirayuki," she smirked._

_The pale woman lightly smiled, accepting Rukia's challenge. "Hai, Rukia-sama."_

_The shinigami ran full-speed towards Sode no Shirayuki, getting ready to strike her. Sode no Shirayuki blocked the zanpakuto with her blade, sliding it off as she got ready to strike back. Before she could, Rukia slashed the air;_

"_TSUKISHIRO!" Pale-blue light surrounded both women, only Sode no Shirayuki's eyes widened. They leaped out of the circle before the light solidified to ice._

_Sode no Shirayuki noticed that Rukia didn't have to repeat the dance for Tsukishiro to form._

"_Impressive, Rukia-sama. You are progressing!" She landed gently, once again floating on the icy surface._

_Rukia's feet slid backwards to a stop. Grasping the hilt with both hands, she took her stance: "Hakuren!"_

_Raising her eyebrow, Sode no Shirayuki used her speed to dodge the wave of snow. With a simple hand gesture, icicles formed and shot at Rukia from her long, white sleeve. _

_Rukia jumped to dodge them, only to find Sode no Shirayuki flying full-speed at her. Caught off guard, she acted on instinct; she raised her zanpakuto at its spirit-form, one eye closed as if something got caught in it. "H…HAKUREN!"_

_Sode no Shirayuki's eyes grew bigger as the snow fired at her body. She shattered along with the hardened snow as Rukia landed on her feet, panting. _

_Ice particles slowly began to reform the beautiful yuki-onna, the expression on her face still somewhat shocked. Floating above the icy ground again, she looked at her wielder with gentle eyes. "You're ready, Rukia-sama." _

_Rukia smiled as the icy inner-world blurred form her sight. "Arigatou, Sode no Shirayuki."_

Ichigo's blade constantly clashed against Masahiro's. Thirsting for revenge, he saw an opening and cut Masahiro's stomach, then deeply gashed his shoulder.

"Damn you, C-Carrot-top!" he muttered, his arms supporting his weight as his knees dropped to the ground.

Deciding that he didn't need his hollow mask after all, Ichigo deactivated the white mask. "You won't fucking talk about Rukia that way again, as long as I'm still alive!" he yelled, bringing his zanpakuto over his head.

Cursing, Masahiro used flash step to dodge Ichigo's falling blade. "Fuck this abnormal hair colored son of a bitch!"

Soon, the two were at each other's throats in the air again, blades constantly clashing. Masahiro didn't seem to care about his bleeding shoulder or stomach.

"All right," Senna took a step closer to Orihime, "Put away that shield and maybe I'll go easy on you, bitch."

Senna was ready to attack when something grabbed her ankle. "What the—"

Rukia's hand was wrapped around her ankle, thin ice starting to form around her grasp. The life returned to her eyes as she glared at Senna.

"Don't touch Inoue."

The amber-eyed shinigami jumped away from Rukia's hold. "And what's a beat-up, worthless Kuchiki gonna do about it?" she mocked.

Rukia rose to her feet, wincing as she partially held her stomach.

"K-Kuchiki-san! Let me heal—"

"Inoue, stay behind your shield. There's no time for healing right now."

The look plastered on Rukia's face convinced Orihime; she turned to Santen Kesshun and tried to keep it up.

"Chad! Ishida! Look out for Inoue while I fight!" Rukia called over to the two teenagers.

"Alright. Let's go, Chad!" Chad nodded, and the two started running to Orihime.

Rukia averted her gaze from them and shot an icy glare at Senna. "Well? Come and get me, Senna."

Smirking, Senna charged at the petite shinigami. "You're gonna regret that, Kuchiki! Akumakaze, Mirokumaru!"

"Kuchiki-san! Look out!" shouted a worried Orihime from behind the orange shield.

The demonic wind rushed at Rukia, preparing to cut her limb from limb. Without fidgeting, Rukia stabbed Sode no Shirayuki into the ground,

"Aisushirudo."

A white ice-wall severed the two, the dark winds lightly scratching Senna's side of the shield.

"I-impossible!" Senna stared shockingly at the white wall.

Rukia jumped over the wall and punctured the ground again. "Juhaku!"

Thin ice began to freeze Senna's feet, immediately breaking once she jumped. Glaring at Rukia, she questioned, "When did—"

"Hakuren." Rukia swiftly lifted her pure-white zanpakuto with one arm, much like Sode no Shirayuki.

4 bursts of ice built in front of her, a wave of ice fired at Senna shortly afterward. Her legs were frozen and stuck in the icy wave.

"S-shit! Damn you, Kuchiki!" Senna furrowed her eyebrows down at Rukia. Her legs were extremely numb.

Rukia returned a deadly glare, her violet eyes beginning to glow. She gracefully turned her zanpakuto upside down, Sode no Shirayuki helping her from the inner-world. Their voices combined, gentle yet determined.

"Tsukishiro!"

Senna's eyes were huge as she looked down at the moon on the ground. Unable to speak, the pale-blue light solidified, trapping her inside.

"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled.

Masahiro glanced over, "S-Senna-sama!"

Ichigo took another chance and fired at Masahiro. "GETSUGA TENSHO!"

The black Getsuga struck the masked assassin, catching him off guard. The Getsuga threw him into Tsukishiro, completely shattering the tower, killing both Senna and Masahiro.

Rukia panted as ice crystals fell from the shattered tower. She stabbed her zanpakuto into the ground again, this time holding onto it to keep her from falling. "Thanks again, Sode no Shirayuki," she whispered.

"Kuchiki-san! Kurosaki-kun!" Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily, Shun'o, Ayame, and Tsubaki returned to Orihime's hair pins as she ran towards them. Ichigo landed beside Rukia.

"Rukia, are you okay?"

Violet eyes met amber ones. "Yes, I'm fi—" Her eyes suddenly widened as she coughed up blood. Her stomach started to bleed from the force of Masahiro's fist. Vision blurred, loosening her grip on Sode no Shirayuki's hilt, Rukia fainted.

"R-Rukia!" Ichigo held onto her waist to keep her from falling.

Yoruichi flash stepped her way behind Chad and Ishida. "Yo!" she greeted, scaring the crap out of both of them.

Over her shoulder, she held a kicking and screaming gigai, "Let meeee gwo! I dwidin't do anythwing to ya!" Senna's attacks were nothing against Yoruichi.

"I found this running around Karakura Town as I was investigating what happened earlier," she explained.

"Thwat's nawt vewwy noice, lady! Where's Swenna-sama? Mahawsiro?"

"They're gone," Ichigo said, blood dripping down his chin, "Rukia and I took care of 'em."

"I see. Ichigo, bring Rukia to Urahara's shop. Tessai will heal her there. I expect you to be exhausted, Orihime." The dark woman looked over at the busty girl.

"H-hai, Yoruichi-san.." she replied shyly.

Yoruichi grinned, "Alright, let's go everyone!"

"Hold on, I need to get something…" Ichigo ran back to the carnival and came back as fast as he could.

They all made way to Urahara's shop with Rukia on Ichigo's back.

When they got there, Ururu and Jinta let them in.

"Ah, Kurosaki-san! What a pleas—" Ichigo decked Urahara in the face.

"WE JUST FOUGHT AND RUKIA ALMOST DIED. THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE PLEASANT, HAT N' CLOGS!" pissed, Ichigo sat down as Tessai treated his chin. Rukia already got treated and was resting in a different room.

"I have already treated Miss Kuchiki, but it may take her a couple days to fully heal. She has a broken arm and her stomach is very weak at the moment."

Ichigo nodded and thanked Tessai for treating them both.

Urahara sat and held his bleeding nose, "that was unnecessary, Kurosaki-san!" he whined.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, just tell me what was up with that assassin and shinigami." His scowl deepened at the thought of them.

"Yes, well…" Urahara started, "Yoruichi-san and I did a little investigating around Karakura Town."

"The girl with the purple hair was named Senna. She was a former 13th squad member." The 4 Karakura High students looked at Yoruichi to continue.

"She had some sort of brother-sister relationship with Kaien Shiba. She blamed him for everything that didn't go the way she wanted it to, so he was fed up with her. He decided not to be affiliated with her anymore, and that's when Rukia joined the 13th squad, thanks to Byakuyabo."

"Hai, hai!" Urahara continued as fanned himself, "Shiba-san and Kuchiki-san became very close afterwards. He was possessed by a hollow after it had killed his wife, causing Kuchiki-san to accidentally stab him with her zanpakuto. Shiba-san thanked her for saving him from the hollow, for the only way to set him free was to kill him."

Yoruichi crossed her arms. "Apparently, this devastated Senna," she looked over to the lifeless gigai she found earlier. Its soul pill was removed and the soul candy dispenser was back in Urahara's inventory. Yoruichi continued, "and she ran from Seireitei, dragging along her half-brother Masahiro, that assassin you faced earlier." Ichigo's brows furrowed.

"When they arrived here, Masahiro vowed to protect Senna for whatever reason we're not exactly sure of. She spent her days here stalking you, Ichigo." Now, plastered on his face was a disgusted look. Memories soon came to mind:

_Rukia pointed at Nel, "Why is she glaring at me?"_

"_I wonder…" Ichigo looked back._

"_What is your welationship with Itsygo?" Nel shot a look of jealousy towards Rukia as she clung to Ichigo's arm, who gave her a confused face._

"_Huh..?" Rukia replied._

"_Popular with the ladies, eh?" Renji smirked._

"_Kiss my ass." Ichigo muttered._

"_That's right! Standing next to each other like that! It's so gross! You aren't even lovers!" Ririn glared at Rukia, who was standing next to Ichigo. _

_Rukia turned around, "What are you saying, Ririn?"_

"_Bleh! I'm not really sure why, but it's just plain gross." The small stuffed bird turned away._

"_Try not to do anything stupid," Rukia smiled at Ichigo._

"_Yeah." He smiled back._

"_Not this again!" shouted an irritated Ririn. _

"_I'm more valuable than her and I'll prove it! I'll go find the Bounts myself and then you'll see! I'll beat you, Rukia! I'll beat all of you!" _ _Ririn flew away, on search of the Bounts._

Ichigo shuddered at the memory. "_I am so DONE with stalkers!_"

"The only reason you couldn't feel Senna's reiatsu when she attacked Rukia was because she tried her absolute best to hide it from you. You know, so you wouldn't know that she was a stalker."

Ichigo stuck his tongue out in disgust. Everyone smiled at his reaction.

"Anyway," continued Yoruichi as she grinned, "when Rukia was stationed here in Karakura Town, she met you and transferred her powers. She changed your world, and Senna had heard that she killed Kaien Shiba. She directed all her anger at Rukia and sought revenge."

Ichigo's eyes softened at the memory if Rukia transferring her powers into him. He looked over at the door separating them. _"I hope she's doing okay."_

"And then this is what happened. At least you took care of them; now they aren't a problem." Urahara smiled behind his fan.

"I see," Ichigo stood up. "I guess we should be going now. Thanks, Yoruichi-san, Hat N' Clogs."

Tessai put his hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Would you like to take Miss Kuchiki home now?"

"Yeah."

Tessai slid the door leading to Rukia open. She was in her gigai again, her wounds not as bad as before, being wrapped up thanks to Tessai.

Ichigo put slung her right arm around his shoulder and made sure her broken left arm was safely cushioned. He let her legs rest on his forearms as he stood up to leave.

Looking over his shoulder, he thanked Tessai again.

"I'm taking Rukia home," Ichigo called to everyone from outside. "See you later."

"Ja, Ichigo."

"See you around, Kurosaki."

"Bye, Ichigo."

"Goodnight, Kurosaki-kun! Take care of Kuchiki-san!"

"Take care, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo walked home with Rukia on his back. She stirred as he opened the door to his house.

Shutting the door behind him, he carried his sleeping beauty upstairs to his room, careful not to wake up Isshin, Yuzu, or Karin.

Afraid that she might wake up if he opened the closet door, Ichigo shifted his position and slowly laid down on his bed with Rukia in his arms.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," he whispered. His eyelids slowly closed as he gave in to sleep.

The last thing on his mind was how she smelled like strawberries.

Yay, finished another chapter! =) Sorry if I made any mistakes… hehe

ICHIGO AND RUKIA ARE SO CUTE TOGETHER. NOMNOMNOM.

Okie well... until next time!

~Cutietea (=


	6. Untouchable

Flurry of Freezing Flames, now that you brought the thing with Ulquiorra up, I might make him come back in later chapters. I don't know how. But I'll try, maybe! Thanks. (=

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

I don't own Bleach, the characters, Taylor Swift or her songs!

Ichigo leaned against the doorframe staring at Rukia's sleeping form.

"_She still hasn't woken up yet."_

It was evening in Karakura Town. When Ichigo woke up in the morning, he found Rukia missing, and bolted down the hall opening every door with panic until Isshin went upstairs.

"_No need to worry, my boy," Isshin put his hand on the orange-haired teen's shoulder, "I went to wake you up this morning when I saw my injured Rukia-chan in bed with you. I carried her downstairs to the clinic's available bed and positioned her arm a certain way so that if she stirs she won't hurt her arm." _

_Ichigo released a sigh of relief. "Thanks, old man."_

_Isshin laughed. "I didn't know sex was that rough and wild at your age!"_

_Soon after, Ichigo's fist knocked Isshin all the way across the hall. _

_The scowling teen turned his back on his father as he crossed his arms, but even without facing him he couldn't conceal his blush._

"_I-It wasn't anything like that! Geez, get off my back, will ya?"_

"_Really? Then when will I get my grandchildren?" _

"_Shutup!"_

"Onii-chan's been standing there for some time now."

Karin looked up from her soccer magazine. "Huh? Oh. Ichi-nii's just protective over Ruki-nee—after all, she is his girlfriend."

Yuzu gazed at her brother, then back at Karin. "I sure hope Ruki-nee's okay… That fall down the stairs must've hurt!"

Isshin had told Yuzu and Karin that Rukia fell down the stairs leading up to a carnival ride last night and that Ichigo was in the porta-potty when it happened.

Turning her attention back to the magazine, Karin spoke again. "If Ichi-nii hadn't been taking a dump, he would've caught Ruki-nee."

Ichigo's ears flinched, "I wasn't taking a dump!" he shot back.

Sighing, Yuzu got up from the couch. "Ichi-nii, Karin-chan, I'm going to put on some music if you don't mind."

Both siblings' faces displayed a look of surprise.

"Music? You never listen to music, though." Karin raised an eyebrow.

"I know, but it's for a project in school. I need to let a plant listen to music and see if it alters the growth rate. I chose to play calm, soft songs, so is that okay?" the sandy-haired girl asked.

"Oh, alright. I don't mind. I can just go up to our room to read. How 'bout you, Ichi-nii?"

He only nodded and went back to watching Rukia.

Yuzu smiled, "Thanks!"

The small girl grabbed the CD player and played some music for the plant in the living room. She set it to repeat the playlist again after it goes through each song once as her twin made her way upstairs to their room, reading in peace.

"Okay, Ichi-nii. Try not to move the plant, please! Dinner'll be—"

"I don't think I'll be eating dinner tonight, Yuzu. At least not until she's awake."

Although his back was facing her, he knew that she wore a warm smile.

"Alright, Ichi-nii. Tell Otou-san that I'll be at the market!"

"Okay. Don't forget your coat, Yuzu."

She grabbed her yellow jacket and opened the door to leave, "I've got it!"

Ichigo glanced back to make sure, and once he saw her, he turned back to Rukia.

The door shut behind Yuzu. Ichigo sighed and stood up straight, no longer leaning against the doorframe. Running a hand through his wild, orange locks, he pulled a chair and sat by Rukia's bed.

He analyzed her body lying on the bed, now dressed in her comfortable pajamas instead of her carnival outfit, observing her breathing pattern.

Her brows weren't furrowed like they usually were; the look on her face wasn't stoic, her lips curving slightly at each corner, as if she were in the middle of a good dream. Her eyelids remained closed as her chest moved up and down gently, a small smile pulling at Ichigo's lips.

He hesitantly traced her right hand from the wrist to the tip of her pinky with his fingers, each finger lightly brushing against her delicate, pale skin.

"_She looks so peaceful right now."_

He wondered how she slept back in the Soul Society, unconsciously intertwining his fingers with hers. Did she look this calm? What was she doing in the Soul Society when she wasn't with him? She was probably busy admiring Byakuya or Ukitake, or going on a mission or something. At least the Soul Society was at peace now; she could stay with him as long as she wanted to.

Her eyes fluttered open. Her blurred vision cleared up after a couple of blinks, orange hair being the first thing her violet eyes caught.

"..Ichigo?"

Snapping out of his daze, he immediately looked down at Rukia, his light smile replaced with a scowl. "Oh, you're finally awake now, Midget."

She looked at him with a questioning look. "Finally?" She tried to sit up unsuccessfully and winced at the pain she felt in her stomach.

Ichigo's hand shot out to support her as she sat up, his other hand still holding hers. "Go easy, Rukia. You've got a broken arm and your stomach is extremely weak at the moment. Remember what happened last night?" Rukia detected a hint of sadness in his voice. Looking up, she noticed that his face had a pained expression painted across it.

"What's with that look on your face, Ichigo?" she, somewhat, demanded.

"I'm sorry," he almost whispered, his bangs covering his eyes.

The injured woman raised an eyebrow. "For…?" she questioned.

"For not being able to protect you." The teen now gazed into her eyes. She spoke softly,

"Ichigo, it's not your fault. They were after me, not you," she assured him, trying to calm down the guilt building up in his chest. "I'm not so weak that I need you to protect me all the time. You need to remember that and stop blaming yourself for my injuries." Her grasp on his hand tightened when she realized he had been holding it for a while.

"I can't help but blame myself because I feel as if it's my fault," he told her. "I should've stopped him from grabbing you while we were on the ferris wheel. If I had seen him, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. It's my fault."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Ichigo!" his girlfriend scolded, "It's not healthy, especially when it's clearly not your fault. It's okay, you idiot. Trust me."

He gave in and nodded, then suddenly remembered something.

"_Hold on, I need to get something…" the substitute soul reaper shouted back as he ran full speed back to the carnival. _

_He hopped over the fence separating the carnival from the river and spotted a short woman holding a lifeless, orange-haired teenager over her shoulder._

"_Oh, no! My friend's just… ride-sick! He threw up on the ferris wheel and fainted, so I'm just… um…supporting him, so that he won't fall! Yeah!" Chappy explained as looks of curiosity surrounded her._

"_Oi!" Ichigo called. He skid to a stop before Chappy and slowly got into his body. _

_Now in his body, Ichigo pretended to slowly regain consciousness. Scratching his head, he laughed nervously at the crowd that formed around them._

"_Uh, I'm okay now! Nothing to see here, people! Just an injured chin, is all."_

_He stood up from Chappy's supporting arm and started running to the ferris wheel as the crowd dispersed. "Wait there! I'll be right back!" he called over his shoulder._

_After turning many corners, he finally found the ferris wheel. _

"_Sir, my girlfriend and I left something really important in one of the cars," he explained to the ride operator. _

"_Sure," he said, "do you remember which car you and your girlfriend had?"_

_Ichigo nodded. "Number 8," he pointed in the direction of said car._

"_Just a second, please." The man pushed a blue button until car number 8 reached them. He unlocked the door and Ichigo went inside._

"_Where is it," Ichigo mumbled to himself. He stuck his arm under the car's seats and started to feel around for something. Finally making contact with something soft and fluffy, he pulled it out from underneath the seat. _

"_Yes! I found it!" He thanked the man and met up with Chappy again._

"_What's that?" Chappy asked, looking at the white object in Ichigo's hand._

"_It's a Chappy doll," he replied as he turned the doll's face towards Chappy, "I won it for the midget, but she dropped it when that bastard grabbed her. Just thought she'd like to see it again." He smirked as he thought of how Rukia would react once he presented it to her again._

_Chappy's eyes sparkled. "So ky-oote…" she whispered, "..It's wuv…!"_

_Ichigo's scowl returned, "Do you always have to kill the mood?"_

_He nearly screamed as Chappy tried to break his arm._

"_Alright, alright! I'm sorry! Now will you get offa me? We've gotta get Rukia to Urahara's, quickly!" _

_Huffing, Rukia's gigai got off of him. "Fwine!" _

_Ichigo stood up and dusted the thin layer of dirt off his jeans. "You go to Urahara's first and tell him that we're coming, okay?"_

_Chappy nodded and was off in a flash._

_The orange-haired teen ran back in the direction of his waiting friends. Meeting up with them, he lifted Rukia's injured body on his back, secretly slipping the doll inside his jacket._

"_Alright, let's go."_

"Rukia, I'll be right back…" Ichigo said, letting go of her hand as he made way to the staircase.

"Where are you going?"

He looked back, "I forgot something important upstairs. I'll be back in a sec!" He continued walking, then stopped suddenly, running back to Rukia, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before turning around again, continuing up the stairs.

Rukia brought her right hand to her cheek. "Amazing how the littlest things he does make me blush," she whispered to herself.

Her face held a small smile before her cell phone vibrated. Looking around, lifting up her pillow and sheets, she finally found her cell phone on the bedside table. The caller ID read: "Renji Abarai."

"_What does this buffoon want?"_ she scowled as she flipped her phone open. "Hey, Renji."

"**Hey, Rukia! Long time no talk!"**

"What're you talking about, idiot? We talked just last week before I left for the World of the Living!"

"**Well, is it wrong for an old pal to miss ya?"**

Rukia imagined Renji giving her kissy-faces when she got back to the Soul Society. She could bet that he was blushing on the other side of the phone. Her small body shuddered at the thought.

"I guess not…"

"Rukia!" Ichigo called to her while he sprinted down the stairs, "I—"

"Shh!" she silenced him, "I'm on the phone!"

"**Is that Strawberry-teme?" **Renji spat.

"Don't call him that, baka!"

"**Since when were you so defensive of Ichigo?" **he tried his best not to show it, but Renji was definitely worried. _"Is there something going on that she isn't telling me about? No, she would tell me everything—I'm her best friend, aren't I?"_

"I am NOT defensive of Ichigo!" Rukia retorted. _"I should probably schedule something with him and Nii-sama… I need to tell them about Ichigo and me."_

Releasing a deep sigh, she decided to meet up with her brother and Renji.

"Renji," she started, "So many things have been happening this week. How would you and Nii-sama like to come visit the World of the Living? You know, to catch up on some things… I'm sure you have a lot to tell me, too."

Ichigo hid the Chappy doll that he grabbed from his desk upstairs behind his back as he twitched and his scowl deepened. His body froze as he struggled to say something, "…B-Byakuya's coming…._here_?"

"Shh!" she silenced him again. "So how 'bout it, Renji? I'll show you two around Karakura Town! If Nii-sama doesn't like that idea, then… we can go camping. What do you say?"

On the inside, Renji wanted to explode. He felt overjoyed to be spending some time with Rukia! …and Byakuya. But on the plus side, he'd be with Rukia, and Rukia would not be with Ichigo. Although he didn't show it, he was extremely jealous of the substitute. He got to spend more time with his crush than he did. It just wasn't fair to him!

"**Sounds great, Rukia! I'll inform Taichou about it soon. We'll drop by next week! Oh crap—" **Matsumoto burst through the door holding an empty bottle of sake, her eyes full of anger, almost turning a fiery red.

"**RENJI ABARAI! DID YOU DRINK MY LAST BOTTLE OF SAKE? I SWEAR I WILL KICK YOUR—"**

"**GOTTA GO RUKIA BYE!" **And with that, the red pineapple hung up.

Rukia's cell phone's homepage appeared on the small screen again, and she flipped it closed before sighing again. She turned her head to her boyfriend, who still stood there frozen after what he'd just heard.

"Yes, Strawberry. Nii-sama and Renji are visiting me next week so we can catch up on things. I'm pretty sure we're going camping, though. Nii-sama isn't really the type to go downtown window shopping…" she half-murmured.

Ichigo shook his head, thawing his frozen body as he gave Rukia a questioning look.

"Byakuya's… coming here? And Renji? That bastard better not touch you…" he was well aware of Renji's big crush on Rukia. And he wasn't very fond of having Byakuya here, either. "Why can't we tell your brother some other time? He always has a huge stick up his ass!" Ichigo complained.

"Don't address Nii-sama so informally! Renji won't lay a hand on me because we're going to tell him while we camp," she instructed him.

"**WE**? Who's 'we', Rukia?"

"Me and you, idiot!"

"Do I have to go camping with those two? I might as well just go to Hell already, then!"

Rukia would've beat his ass up for saying that about her dear friend and beloved brother, but her injuries restricted her from doing so.

"Ichigo, please, _please_ be nice and keep your cool around Nii-sama… I really would like it if he accepted you," she pleaded.

The carrot-top sighed, "Alright. Only for you, though. The only thing I'm going to do for that bastard is take care of his sister."

The injured woman smiled. "Thanks, Strawberry. Now what was it you wanted to show me?"

He suddenly remembered why he ran upstairs in the first place. "Oh, right. Well, since we were ever so rudely interrupted last night…" he brought the hand holding Chappy out in front of him, "I thought you might've wanted to see this again."

Rukia's sparkling eyes widened, the doll's reflection on her big, violet orbs.

"…ICHIGO! GIVE IT HERE!" she whined.

Chuckling, he sat down on the chair by her bed again and handed her the doll, which she held close to her side using her right arm.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ichigo!" she nuzzled the doll against her cheek, "You went back to the carnival to get this for me?"

His cheeks became hot as he crossed his arms, "Yeah, w-well, I wouldn't leave something behind that was so important to you! Even if it is childish!"

Squealing, she leaned over to Ichigo and kissed him on the cheek. "_Berry-kun _deserved that," she smiled.

His scowl failed to conceal his blush.

"By the way, Ichigo…" she started, "what's that sound?"

With his cheeks faintly pink, he turned to his girlfriend. "What sound?"

Soft, country-like music continued to play in the living room.

"That sound, Ichigo! The one.. with guitar strums!"

The teen looked back. The CD player was still playing songs for Yuzu's project.

"Oh, Yuzu's doing some kind of plant, music project…" he replied scratching his head.

"Music? How strange… It's very different from the Soul Society's idea of music… There're so many instruments playing at the same time. It sounds kind of nice," she said softly.

Ichigo glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table. _"It's 7:00. Yuzu should be getting home soon." _

"And the singer," she continued, "she has an amazing voice… very gentle. Who is she?"

He looked at Rukia. "Mm, I think, Taylor Swift? This song's about to end."

"Swift…? Taylor? What a strange name," she said.

"Well, it's an American name. She's not Japanese like we are, Rukia."

She brought her index finger and thumb to her chin, "I see…"

The song ended and a new one started. The steady strum of the guitar's strings rung in Rukia's head, causing her to unconsciously move to the rhythm of the song.

Ichigo noticed this and lightly smiled. "C'mon, Midget," he said, standing up as he offered his hand to her.

The gentle rhythm continued.

"What, Ichigo?" she asked, obviously confused.

"We're going to dance," he answered simply.

"But I don't—"

"Then I'll teach you, Midget."

Unsure of what to expect, Rukia took Ichigo's hand. He helped her get off the bed steadily, careful that she had balance and was able to stand. She was somewhat used to the pain in her stomach now, and her broken arm barely bothered her. He led her to the center of the living room, pushing the couch back against the wall. He turned the volume up a couple notches, turned off the lights, then put his hands on Rukia's waist.

_Untouchable like a distant diamond sky_

_I'm reaching out and I just can't tell you why.._

She rested her head against his chest and laid her right hand by it, her broken arm safely cushioned between their bodies. He could smell the faint scent of strawberries and flowers emitting from her hair and clothes, and she could smell his Axe. It wasn't one of those nasty deodorant-ish smells—it was actually a nice scent, different from the other guys at their school. They just caked that stuff on their pits and expected girls to charge at them, but instead received the opposite reaction.

_I'm caught up in you, I'm caught up in you_

_Untouchable, burning brighter than the sun…_

Ichigo guided Rukia steadily. Although she never danced before, she was pretty good at it. The two rocked back and forth simultaneously to the beat of the song as the moonlight shined through the open living room window. Ichigo had never really learned how to dance; he just imitated what he saw on television. And it seemed to be working.

_And when you're close, I feel like coming undone_

_In the middle of the night, waking from this dream_

_It's like a million little stars spelling out your name_

_You gotta come on, come on, say that we'll be together_

_Come on, come on, little taste of heaven…_

Rukia listened to the song's lyrics. It described exactly how she felt when she was in the Soul Society—she knew she missed Ichigo, but wasn't prepared to admit it to herself. She continued to deny that she had feelings for him; she would stay up all night at times, just thinking about the idiotic carrot-top who drove her nuts and constantly argued with her about the stupidest things, thinking, "_I don't like him. I do not like that Strawberry! I __**do not**__!"_. She couldn't deny it now, though—she knew she was in love with Kurosaki Ichigo.

_It's half full and I won't wait here all day_

_I know you're saying that you'd be here anyway_

_But you're untouchable, burning brighter than the sun_

_Now that you're close, I feel like coming undone_

Ichigo remembered again why he wanted to save Rukia. The expression on her face when they said goodbye to each other after he stopped her execution embedded in his memory. _"She looked calm and collected—peaceful, even. That was the first time I ever saw her like that." _ He had no idea that he'd fall for such a short-tempered midget of a shinigami.

_Come on, come on, oh..._

Although he didn't really listen to music, he decided that he liked this song. He, too, missed Rukia when she was gone—and of course, he denied every thought having to do with being with her. Now that she was his, he was relieved and glad. Renji can't have her. Nobody can. She was his now, and even Byakuya wouldn't get in the way of that. He'll fight for her and protect her as long as he lived; he knew he'd love her no matter what.

_In the middle of the night, waking from this dream_

_I wanna feel you by my side, standing next to me_

_You gotta come on, come on, say that we'll be together_

_Come on, come on, little taste of heaven..._

The living room door creaked open. Yuzu peeped through the small crack, a bag of groceries in her hand. Her brown eyes witnessed her Ichi-nii dancing with her Ruki-nee. She couldn't believe her eyes; the way the moonlight shined on the two, dancing in the middle of the living room. It was like she was watching a beautiful movie.

Karin stopped halfway down the stairs, somewhat surprised at what she saw ahead of her.

"_Since when did Ichi-nii know how to dance?"_ She pushed that thought away and decided to leave them alone, once again heading back upstairs.

"_My boy, you have made me an extremely proud father!" _Isshin thought as he sat on a tree branch outside, watching the two through binoculars. _"Take good care of Rukia-chan, Ichigo. Don't lose her,"_ his train of thought ended as the hand that supported him slipped, his body soon meeting the ground.

He spat out some dirt and grass, taking out a miniature notepad from his coat pocket. "Note to self:" he wrote, "place bed under tree…" He rubbed his ass to reduce the pain from the fall, a waterfall of tears falling from his eyes. "_WHY MUST STALKING MY BOY ALWAYS HAVE A PRICE TO PAY?"_

The two seemed oblivious to the slightly opened door, staircase creaks and faint crying and continued to dance, comfortable in each other's presence. They didn't have a care in the world at the moment—the only thing that mattered to them was each other.

Yuzu closed the door slowly, careful not to make a sound. "_I'll use the back door,"_she thought, "_I'm glad you two are happy._" The young girl smiled as she went around to the back side of the house.

WOOOH. Another chapter! –wipes sweat-

Sorry if there're any mistakes! =(

I really do think Untouchable by Taylor Swift describes Ichigo and Rukia.

**For. Realsies. **

Alright, well, I'll get started on the next chapter as soon as I can!

Until next time,

CutieTea (=


	7. It's Our Home, Not Yours!

**Thanks for the reviews, guys. =) I love ya!**

**How was your Halloween? Mine was the bomb. Painted my face half of Ulquiorra's 2****nd**** release form and half of Ichigo's hollow mask.**

**Blah, I really would like to do a time skip right now… But I don't want to at the same time! Weird, eh? =( I'll figure something out!**

**Until I do, please enjoy Chapter 7 of My Heart Belongs to You! =)**

**And obviously, I do not own Bleach. (x**

It's Wednesday today, about a week from when Ichigo and Rukia came home from Urahara's. Ichigo's chin had already healed, and it was about time that Rukia took off her cast; her stomach was fully healed as well. She was sitting on the clinic's bed while Isshin unwrapped the bandages.

"Rukia-chan, can you move your arm now?" The older Kurosaki male waited for her response.

"Hai, Kurosaki-san. Arigatou." She gave him a smile as she got off the bed, walking towards her boyfriend, who was leaning against the wall with his hands shoved in his pockets.

Ichigo looked up and took his hands out of his pockets, stretching both arms out in front of him. His girlfriend wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled her head against his chest. Smiling, he returned the hug.

"You alright now, Midget?"

The 'Midget' looked up, "Yeah I am, Strawberry."

Isshin watched the two. _"Reminds me of Masaki and myself," _he thought, unaware of the smile that crept onto his face.

Suddenly, a snippet of "After Dark" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation played—Rukia's cell phone's ringtone. After Yuzu finished her music project, Rukia insisted on being introduced to the modern American and Japanese music genres, to which Yuzu and Inoue gladly obliged. Now leaning against Ichigo on one side, she slipped her phone out of her back pocket and glanced at the caller ID: Renji Abarai. Sighing, she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"**Rukia, Taichou and I are leaving for the World of the Living in about an hour!"**

Violet eyes widened, the memory of her invitation to Renji and Byakuya had escaped her mind until the redhead brought it up. _"How could I forget? Anything involving Nii-sama is always important!" _

"O-OH. Right! Yeah! Everything's ready! We'll be seeing you in an hour!" she lied.

"**Alright! Can't wait to see you!" **

Renji hung up. Panicking, Rukia fumbled to get her phone closed and shoved it back into her pocket.

"Ichigo! I totally forgot about Renji and Nii-sama's staying here! Help me get the guest room ready!" she started running towards the guest room when the carrot-top pulled on her arm to stop.

"Relax. While your midget-brain forgot, my superior intellect remembered. I already got everything ready. I don't want Byakuya to think I can't handle guests."

Rukia raised an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest, "What about their clothes? They can't wear their shinigami uniform while camping! There're bound to be people camping on that mountain, too."

"Like I said, Midget," the tall teen assured her, "I've got everything ready. Urahara's even got their gigai ready at his shop."

Relieved, the short woman smiled. "Thanks. And please, address Nii-sama as "Kuchiki-san". Avoid using his first name!"

"Tch. Whatever. That ass better be thankful I'm even letting him in my house." He scowled at the mention of Byakuya.

"Ichigo Kurosaki! I mean it!" she scolded. She used Ichigo's full name whenever she was serious.

"Alright! Calm down, Rukia!" he retorted.

"So, when are Kuchiki-kun and Renji arriving?" Isshin asked, a wondering look plastered on his face.

"Around 6:00 PM. Thank you for allowing them stay here, Kurosaki-san." Rukia bowed in respect, only to be told to stand up straight again. "No need to give me all that respectful crap. My home is your home, Rukia-chan! After all, you are my third daughter!" he ruffled her hair and flashed a toothy grin. "It's like that one saying… 'Mi casa es su casa'!"

Rukia laughed nervously as she straightened out her hair, "Well, thanks anyway, Kurosaki-san!"

"Will you quit with your lame Spanish sayings, old man?" an annoyed Ichigo mumbled, "stop harassing Rukia!"

"I'm not harassing my third daughter! How can you think such a thing! Masaki, my own son doubts my true intentions!" fake tears ran down Isshin's cheeks as he slapped his body over the poster of the beloved Kurosaki woman in the living room. "At least he has Rukia-chan to guide him in the opposite direction of stupidity! He is slowly developing his manhood! Just last week, I saw them making o—"

Ichigo socked his father, his body soon making contact with the door, a large bruise forming on his cheek.

"Give it a rest already, you old goat!" Blush accompanied his scowl as he shook his fist at Isshin, who lay on the carpet holding his cheek and bleeding nose.

"Ichi-nii, you and Otou-san should really stop doing that," Yuzu said walking in from the kitchen, holding a ladle. She turned to Rukia and smiled, "Ruki-nee, I'm almost finished with dinner! Do Kuchiki-san and Abarai-san like rice with curry?"

Rukia returned her smile and chuckled, "I'm sure they'll enjoy your cooking, Yuzu. You're the best cook in the world!"

Blushing, Yuzu looked down and hid her hands behind her back. "Thank you, Ruki-nee. It means a lot coming from you!"

"Hey! I always compliment your cooking!" Ichigo argued.

"But you're my Ichi-nii! It's different!" the sandy-haired girl retorted with her hands on her hips, and with that, she left to tend to the pot of boiling curry.

The petite shinigami couldn't help but laugh. "I'm going to have to ask her for cooking lessons one day," she continued to laugh, her cheerful violet eyes looking at Ichigo. He sighed but gave her a half smile, then started going up the stairs. "I'm going to take a quick shower," he called over his shoulder.

As he disappeared up the stairs, "After Dark" started playing again. Rukia slipped her phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID: Orihime Inoue.

"Hello, Inoue!" she answered happily.

"**Ano, Kuchiki-san…" **Inoue's voice wasn't its usual cheery self. She wasn't sad, but she wasn't happy either, which surprised Rukia.

"What happened? Is something wrong?" she worriedly asked.

"**Hold on, I'll link you in with Tatsuki-chan…" **

Rukia waited for a couple seconds, then heard another voice.

"_Hello? Is Rukia in here, Hime?" _

"**I think so. Kuchiki-san, are you there?"**

"Yes, I'm here, Inoue. Hello, Arisawa."

"_Hey, Rukia. So what happened, Hime! Spill it out!"_

"**H-Hai! Well," **the busty girl started, **"Ishida-kun and I…" **Rukia and Tatsuki eagerly waited for her to finish. **"We… broke up…" **

Both girls were surprised—they thought Inoue and Ishida were practically made for each other, the way they hugged when they had to leave, how he would walk her home after school…

"_**What happened?" **_both girls asked.

"**It just didn't feel like we were together. We barely talked and there wasn't really anything to talk about, anyway… We agreed that it was best to just stay friends, so it's okay!" **

"_Are you sure you're okay, Hime?" _

"**Mhm! Things are back to the way they used to be. Ishida-kun and I are better off as friends. Please don't worry about me, Tatsuki-chan, Kuchiki-san! I'll make myself some peanut butter soup with fish and eggs! Would you guys like to come over and have some?" **Talking about what she was making made the orange-haired girl cheerful again. On the other hand, Tatsuki and Rukia were gagging at the mention of the horrid food combination.

"Uh… I'll pass…" the raven-haired woman said as she tried to suppress her gags. "Plus, Nii-sama and Renji are visiting today…"

"_I'm with Rukia on that one… Sorry, Hime. You have a brother, Rukia? Who's Renji?" _

"I'll introduce you to them when I have time. Right now I have to get things ready for their arrival."

"_Okay, Rukia. Let me know when!"_

"**Say 'hi' to Abarai-kun and Kuchiki-san for me! Alright, you two… but I'm telling you—you're missing out on the best stuff in the world!" **

Tatsuki and Rukia laughed nervously into the phone and assured Inoue that they would be fine without it. They ended their call there, and Rukia walked up the stairs to Ichigo's room. 

The tall male sighed as he looked at the bathroom mirror. He examined his chin—little orange hairs were growing. "_I'm gonna have to start shaving," _he thought. Walking to his room across the hall, water trickled down his face. His dark green cargos hung around his waist as he dried his hair. Digging through his dresser, he found a navy-blue polo and threw it on. His attention was on the door now; Rukia peered inside, then stepped in and closed the door behind her.

"Hey there, Strawberry."

He threw the damp towel onto his bed, walking over to Rukia to plant a kiss on her cheek. With her in his arms, he huskily whispered in her ear, "Hey, Midget."

Chills ran up and down her spine as she felt his hot breath brush against her cheek. When he talked like that, she couldn't help but blush. Man, he was turning her on—keeping her composure around him was hard, and he made her legs weak.

"I-Ichigo…" she half-moaned. "Y-You pig..!"

He laughed and they rocked back and forth as he hugged her from behind. "Why'd you come up here, anyway?"

"Inoue just called me," Rukia explained, "She and Ishida broke up."

Somewhat surprised, Ichigo asked her why.

"She said they didn't talk much. At first, she sounded kind of sad, but then she said that they were still friends and that her _peanut butter soup with fish and eggs _would cheer her up…" she felt queasy as she finished her explanation.

"Gee, that sounds delicious," the carrot-top sarcastically commented. "Well, as long as they're still friends. Hey, Rukia…"

She looked up at her boyfriend. "What, Ichigo?"

He smirked. "We should really do something before Byakuya and Renji get here. I'm pretty sure we won't be able to do it during their stay."

"And what do you suggest we do, Berry-kun?" she asked sweetly.

"This," he said before crushing his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he hoisted her up against the door, lifting her legs up so that they wrapped around his waist. He let go of one leg to lock his door, then continued to kiss her.

His tongue begged her for an entrance, which she gladly accepted. Their tongues wrestled each other, both shinigami savoring every taste. They were both turned on, slightly sweating because of how close their bodies were. Rukia slipped down Ichigo's waist a bit before he hoisted her up again, her body rubbing against his clothed erection.

He released a small moan, shifting from the door to the bed. He sat on the edge of his bed before lying down, still kissing Rukia passionately. Their tongues battled it out as they rolled on the bed, their legs tangling with each other. She ran her hand through his orange hair as he rubbed her back with his left hand and groped her lower cheeks with his right. After a few good minutes of kissing, they broke apart for air, the petite woman lying on top of her lover.

"I l-ike this id-ea of yours," she panted. She pecked him on the lips before he rolled on top of her.

"Y-Yeah. I lo-ve y-ou," he said through pants. She rolled on top of him again, the diamond necklace dangling from her neck onto his chest.

"I l-ove you, t-oo," she whispered as she fingered circles on his chest. She quickly got up and straightened out her messed up hair and the wrinkles on her clothes. Ichigo immediately frowned at the absence of her body against his.

"Aw, man… is it 6 already?" he asked, disappointed.

She glanced at the clock and turned back to Ichigo. "In 7 minutes it will be."

Sighing, the substitute stood up and scratched his head. "I guess we should get ready for them then."

As if on cue, Renji popped off the ceiling light, sticking his head through the hole.

"Oi, Rukia, Ichigo!" he grinned as the two turned their attention to him.

"Oi! Get down from there! If you break through the roof, you're fixing it!" an annoyed Ichigo said.

"Relax, Strawberry! Taichou and I are coming down right now!" the redhead said as he landed on the floor.

"Renji," a deep voice called from above, "you are truly a Neanderthal if you think I am going to enter the filthy brat's home through a hole in the roof."

Ichigo growled, "I AM NOT A—" He was cut off when Rukia elbowed his ribs, "Renji, you idiot! How can you let Nii-sama, your taichou, go through such a tiny entrance? Sumimasen, Nii-sama!" She bowed, "I'll open the front door for you!" She ran to the front door as fast as she could and opened it for Byakuya, waiting for him to get off of the roof. Ichigo and Renji walked down the stairs and waited behind Rukia.

Byakuya stepped through the door, stoic as always. "Rukia," he began, "I expect this visit to be rather interesting. Boy," he turned to Ichigo, "take my things and unpack them." He handed the scowling carrot-top a light bag that only consisted of things like his comb, a toothbrush, his towel, a book, and his kenseikan. He didn't have them on at the moment because before he and Renji went to Ichigo's house, they stopped by Urahara's to pick up their gigai, and Yoruichi teased him about how silly a modern man would look with foreign headpieces on.

Mumbling curses under his breath, Ichigo reluctantly took the bag from Byakuya's hand and grouchily started walking to the guest room.

"How impudent. The brat didn't even greet me. Interesting way to welcome a guest into your home, Boy."

"Ichigo!" Rukia hissed. "Greet him!"

Trying to maintain his composure, he gently set the bag down on the floor and turned to Byakuya. "Welcome to my home, Kuchiki-san…" he bowed down and cringed as he felt the Kuchiki man's cold stare, then stood up straight again, picking up the bag and continuing his walk to the guest room.

"Yuzu, Karin, Old man!" he called to the kitchen from the guest room, "Bya—I mean, Kuchiki-san and Renji are here!"

Byakuya turned to Rukia, "The boy does not even have respect for his father. How ill-mannered he is."

Renji wanted to laugh, holding his hand over his mouth to suppress it. Man, he was enjoying watching Ichigo get bossed around and getting talked lowly of by his high-class captain—he had no chance of being with Rukia now!

"W-Well, Nii-sama, that's just the way he and Kurosaki-san communicate…" Rukia stuttered.

Yuzu, Karin, and Isshin made way to the living room. "Ah, Kuchiki-kun!" Isshin went to shake his hand, "Good to see you again! Welcome to my home!"

The older Kuchiki gently shook Isshin's hand and nodded, then looked over to Yuzu and Karin.

Yuzu and Karin communicated through glances. _"He looks intimidating_," Yuzu looked at Karin. _"I know,"_ etched onto Karin's face.

"Um, welcome to our home, Kurosaki-san!" the girls greeted in unison, then bowed respectfully.

"I'm Yuzu, and this is my sister, Karin. We're Ichi-nii's sisters," the sandy-haired girl nervously tried to keep her smile.

"It is a pleasure," he answered simply.

Rukia interjected, "and, um, this is Renji Abarai." She pushed Renji towards the girls and Isshin.

"HELLLLLLLLL-OOOOOOOOO, REEEEENJIIIIIIII!" Isshin yelled as he shook Renji's hand hard. To him, Renji and Ichigo were a lot alike, so he treated them similarly.

"H-Hello, Kurosaki-san!" Renji said as his hand throbbed.

Yuzu and Karin analyzed Byakuya and Renji. Both of them had long hair, and Renji's was abnormally red and tied up. Byakuya looked handsome in his dress shirt and dress pants—he looked sophisticated and intimidating. They didn't expect Rukia's brother to look so… _uptight_. Renji, however, looked like any other teenager—besides his red hair, strange eyebrows, and the white band tied around his head. He reminded them of Ichigo in his blue jeans, grey T-shirt and black hoodie, but greeted him respectfully as they did Byakuya.

"Welcome to our home, Abarai-san!" the girls greeted in unison again.

"Call me Renji," he said, as he messed up both heads of hair.

Laughing, Yuzu and Karin straightened out their hair and returned to the kitchen. "Dinner's ready, we just need to set up the table!" Yuzu called to them.

After unpacking Byakuya's things (Renji's were already in the room, somehow..), Ichigo walked to the kitchen and placed his hands on one of both twins' shoulders. "Remember," he reminded them, "don't say a word to them about Rukia and me. Got it?" He looked at both of them, who nodded in return. "Good girls," he said as he walked over to the living room.

Byakuya and Renji sat across from Rukia and Isshin on the couches, Isshin doing all the talking.

"SO THERE I WAS, UP AGAINST A BIG SHARK IN THE OCEAN! BAM! I KNOCKED ITS 2ND ROW OF TEETH OUT WITH MY BARE HANDS! HAHAHAHAHA! IT WAS GREAT! I WAS MARVELOUS!" he laughed as he demonstrated his story with the use of hand motions.

Rukia started sweating, nervous that Byakuya would not approve of the Kurosaki's. "G-Great story, Kurosaki-san…!"

"Thank you, Rukia-chan! So when are you all going to go camping?"

"Tomorrow." Everyone turned their heads to the person who answered that question; Ichigo was nervous too, but finished calmly, "We're leaving at 10:00 AM."

Renji twitched. "We? You're going too, Teme?"

Ichigo directed a glare at Renji. "Yeah, of course I'm going! Rukia doesn't know the way up the mountain or how to camp, so who else would take you guys?"

"Tch." Scowling, Renji crossed his arms as disappointment stung him and turned away.

"Rukia," Byakuya said, "is our room ready?"

Rukia nodded, adding, "Ichigo prepared everything for you!"

The captain stood up, then glanced at the substitute. "I suppose I should thank you."

Ichigo was surprised, but then sighed. "No. It's no big deal. Don't worry about it."

"Did I say I was worried about it, Boy? I merely suggested that I should thank you."

Karin's ears flinched as she listened to their conversation from the kitchen, but decided to leave it be.

The teen's brows furrowed. "Tch. Whatever."

Rukia felt the tension between the two shinigami and decided to change the subject. "Uh, I think Yuzu and Karin are done setting up the table… let's go have a seat!"

Everyone in the living room started to walk towards the kitchen; Rukia waited for Ichigo to start walking last and pulled on his arm.

"Please, _please_ be nice to him. I really want him to approve of you and your family," she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

His chocolate-brown eyes looked tired. "I'm trying, Rukia… but he's not giving me any reason to be nice to him. I'll keep trying, though. Just so we can be together without any problems."

She smiled and gave him a look promising that he'd get a reward if their plan was successful. The two joined everyone at the kitchen table; Byakuya and Isshin at the ends and Renji, Rukia, and Ichigo across from Karin and Yuzu. Dinner was already brought to the table and Yuzu was pouring everyone a cup of hot tea.

Byakuya's stoic, ice-cold demeanor scared everyone into an awkward silence. The only sounds heard were the clinks of their spoons against their plates and the sounds of their cups placed back on the table. Being the kind host he usually _wasn't_, Ichigo cleared his throat and decided to break the ice.

"So…" he started, "uh… How's the food?"

Without averting his gaze, Byakuya answered. "It is different than what we are served at the mansion. Though this is a low-class dish, it is quite delicious. It is worth acknowledgement, Kurosaki Yuzu."

"Yeah!" the redhead agreed. "This is the better than the crap we're served in the Soul—I mean, back home, on the other side of town!"

Rukia shot Renji an "Are you stupid or something?" look, who gave her an apologetic look in return.

Ichigo had explained to the twins that Byakuya was Rukia's brother-in-law, he was a business man and his wife, Rukia's blood sister Hisana, died of sickness. Renji was his assistant who lived in an apartment across from the Kuchiki mansion, which was on the other side of town, and he had been Rukia's longest friend since she and Byakuya moved here. Whenever Rukia wasn't here, it was because she went to visit Byakuya and Renji, updating them on how she was doing. He decided to tell them the truth once both their spiritual energies grew strong enough.

The young, sandy-haired Kurosaki girl blushed a light shade of pink while playing with her fingers in her lap, never once looking up. "A-Arigatou, Kuchiki-san, Renji-san…" she hesitantly half-whispered.

Silence filled the room again, restoring the awkwardness among them. Isshin and Karin exchanged glances, both thinking that this whole awkward-silency thing was stupid. Sighing, Karin decided to speak up.

"I know this whole thing is becoming more awkward than it should be, but you people need to speak the hell up. Just because Kuchiki-san and Renji are here doesn't mean that we've lost our ability to speak. Geez, it's like you all have a cold or something."

Everyone except Isshin and Byakuya stared at Karin surprised, then turned to witness the taichou's reaction.

Keeping his composure, the Kuchiki male responded. "I somewhat agree to what you are saying, Kurosaki Karin, but that also does not mean that you may say what you feel while dining at the table. A lady must have respect for her family and guests."

That just downright pissed her off, causing her to stand on her chair, put her foot on the table top in the direction of Byakuya, rested her right elbow on her knee and pointed at him with her left index finger. Her brows furrowed as her teeth gritted.

"Listen, I don't care about who you are; you could be the damn president for all I care! You may be Ruki-nee's older brother, but you **don't **make the rules in this house," she growled.

Somewhat appalled, Byakuya looked at the fuming Kurosaki girl. Rukia panicked and looked at Ichigo to do something.

"Karin, get off—" the Kurosaki boy's efforts were no use as Karin continued to talk back to Byakuya.

"So what if I'm not lady-like? Your definition of perfect may be different than mine. As long as you are under our roof, you live under our rules. Cut the last name crap—refer to me as Karin, Ichi-nii as Ichigo, and 'Zu-chan as Yuzu. I honestly don't care what you call my father; he's a knucklehead. Got it, Kuchiki-san?"

She gave him a hard stare before he answered.

"Very well. Ichigo," he turned to the carrot-top, who's appalled expression seemed to freeze on his face. "You have a very interesting family. I am somewhat looking forward to the upcoming events this week." Turning back to Karin, he added, "I suppose I should apologize for my behavior earlier. I am merely a guest in your home, Kurosaki Karin."

Satisfied, Karin crossed her arms and sat back down in her chair. "I said to just call me Karin. I guess you're forgiven," she murmured loud enough for Byakuya to hear. "Since everyone's done eating, let's clean up."

"OH, MY DARLING DAUGHTER KARIN! I KNEW YOUR STRAIGHT-FORWARDNESS WOULD BLOSSOM ONE DAY!" Isshin attempted to tackle her with a hug, only to be kicked in the face.

Byakuya followed the direction given and started picking up his plate. Rukia noticed this, got up and tried to grab the plate from him.

"No, Nii-sama. I'll put it in the sink for you," she offered.

"You need not, Rukia. Karin has made it very clear that as long as I am under their roof, I shall follow their rules. You may go clean up your dish."

The Kuchiki heiress hesitated a bit before continuing to help clean the kitchen table. Could this night get any stranger?

It was now about 9:00 PM and almost everybody in the Kurosaki household was in bed. Yuzu had been worn out from cooking, cleaning, and preparing for the captain and his lieutenant's arrival and Karin slept soundly across from the sandy-haired girl, tired out from a heated soccer game, helping with dinner, and giving Byakuya a piece of her mind.

Renji and Byakuya were in their own beds in the guest room—the redhead slept upside-down off the edge of the bed while his captain slept comfortably on his back with both hands down his sides. Both were in their own set of pajamas. Renji's had a ridiculous looking monkey pattern on it; Byakuya, on the other hand... _had Ambassador Seaweed printed all over white cloth._ Not what you'd expect from the captain of squad 6, but the man _does _love his Ambassador Seaweed—just as much as Rukia loves Chappy. He just didn't show it.

Isshin snored loudly as ever in his room, exhausted from talking about himself too much, embarrassing Ichigo, and attempting to hug Karin.

The lights in the strawberry's room were still on. He and Rukia had been talking ever since everyone left for their rooms. Both sat on the edge of his bed while they exchanged apologies.

"I'm sorry for the way Karin acted at dinner. I didn't expect her to stick up for our family like that. I mean, she would, but after I told her and Yuzu about you, Byakuya, and Renji, I thought she'd lay off acting up," he apologized as sincerely as he could. Small hands held onto his as the petite shinigami shook her head.

"If anyone should be sorry, it's me. Nii-sama can be very cold sometimes. I didn't enjoy it when he bossed you and Karin-chan around. I should've stuck up for you guys. Even though he agreed to follow your rules, I'll apologize to him about this. I'm sorry, Ichigo." Her soft, violet eyes met with his tired, amber ones.

Ichigo gave her a light smile and sighed. "We should be going to bed now; I'm exhausted and we've got to go camping tomorrow. Everything packed?"

She returned his smile. "Yeah, everything's packed. I'll see you in the morning," she said as she got up from his bed.

She slid the closet door open and turned around to peck him on the lips. "Sweet dreams, Strawberry."

She hopped in the closet and closed the door as he turned off the lights.

"Sweet dreams, Midget."

**WOOH. I'M TIRED. **

**I'm sorry if any of them seem OOC. =( Just trying to write. **

**Sorry if there are any mistakes! I'm always apologizing for this, lmfao…**

**But seriously. Sorry. LOL!**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

**Until next time!**

**CutieTea(= **


	8. Author's Note! Sorry

My lame author's note:

I really would like to update this story right now, but I'm really stuck on what to write for the next chapters. Plus, I wanna focus on my new story "Is Love Deceptive?" If you'd like, please read it. x) It's about Rukia Kuchiki moving to Karakura Town from Seireitei City with her brother Byakuya. While she's getting used to the town and new high school, she meets old friends, makes new friends and enemies, and meets the boy she falls in love with. It's IchiRuki with _a little _KaiRuki. But IchiRuki shall always prevail! (: Don't read the story if you ship IchiSenna, RenRuki, or IchiHime! And especially don't read it if you really super duper love Senna…. Just a heads up xD! So I'm putting this fiction off until I finish "Is Love Deceptive?" or until I have some inspiration for the next chapter. I'm really sorry if you've been waiting for me to update this story. =(

Thank you for reading =)

CutieTea


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